atviksorðið

An atviksorð, or adverb in English, is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb, or even a whole clause. It typically provides information about the manner, time, place, frequency, or degree of the action or quality it describes. In Icelandic grammar, atviksorð are often considered a distinct part of speech, separate from adjectives. They can answer questions like "how?", "when?", "where?", or "how often?".

For example, in the sentence "Hún hljóp hratt" (She ran fast), "hratt" is an atviksorð modifying the verb "hljóp" (ran), describing how she ran. Atviksorð can also modify adjectives, as in "mjög gott" (very good), where "mjög" (very) intensifies the adjective "gott" (good). Similarly, they can modify other adverbs: "hann talaði mjög hátt" (he spoke very loudly), with "mjög" modifying the adverb "hátt" (loudly).

Some atviksorð are uninflected, meaning they do not change their form based on gender, number, or case. However, many atviksorð in Icelandic are derived from adjectives and can sometimes show comparative and superlative forms, much like adjectives. For instance, "hægt" (slowly) can have comparative "hægar" (more slowly) and superlative "hægast" (most slowly). The position of atviksorð in a sentence can vary, but they often appear close to the word they modify. Understanding atviksorð is crucial for constructing grammatically correct and nuanced sentences in Icelandic.