Við tölum við lögfræðinginn.

to speak

Breakdown of Við tölum við lögfræðinginn.

• við: we
• við: with
• lögfræðingurinn: the lawyer

Questions & Answers about Við tölum við lögfræðinginn.

Why does við appear twice in the sentence?

Because they are two different words that just happen to be spelled the same.

• Við at the beginning = we
• við after tölum = a preposition meaning to or with

So the sentence structure is:

• Við = subject
• tölum = verb
• við lögfræðinginn = prepositional phrase, to/with the lawyer

This is very common in Icelandic: the same written form can have different meanings depending on its job in the sentence.

Why is it tölum and not tala?

Because tölum is the 1st person plural present tense form of the verb tala.

• Dictionary form: tala = to talk / to speak
• við tölum = we talk / we speak

The ending -um marks we.
Also, the vowel changes from a to ö. This is a common Icelandic pattern called u-umlaut:

• tala
• við tölum

So tölum is not irregular in a random way; it follows a real sound-change pattern found in many Icelandic words.