Hann talar hægt svo ég skil hann vel.

He speaks slowly so I understand him well.

Breakdown of Hann talar hægt svo ég skil hann vel.

• ég: I
• tala: to speak
• hann: he
• vel: well
• skilja: to understand
• hægt: slowly
• svo: so
• hann: him

Questions & Answers about Hann talar hægt svo ég skil hann vel.

What part of speech is hægt in this sentence, and how does it relate to hægur?

hægt is an adverb meaning “slowly.” It derives from the adjective hægur (“slow”). While many Icelandic adjectives form adverbs with -lega (e.g. venjulegur → venjulega), hægur is irregular and forms hægt, just as fljótur becomes fljótt.

Why is hægt placed after talar rather than at the very beginning of the clause?

Icelandic uses the V2 (verb-second) word order in main clauses:
• The finite verb must occupy the second slot.
• Here, Hann (subject) is first, talar (verb) is second.
• The adverb hægt then follows in the third position.
If you fronted another element (e.g. an adverb), the verb would still stay second:
“Hægt talar hann svo ég skil hann vel.”

What is the role of svo in svo ég skil hann vel—is it expressing purpose or result?

Here, svo introduces a result clause (“so (that)…”). It tells us the outcome of his speaking slowly: as a result, “I understand him well.” For purpose (“in order to…”), Icelandic typically uses til að or til þess að, often with a subjunctive or modal verb.

Why is skil in the indicative mood? Could you use a subjunctive form here?

In a factual result clause introduced by svo, you use the indicative (skil = “I understand”). The Icelandic subjunctive (historically called “conjunctive”) appears mainly in fixed expressions or specific subordinate clauses (e.g. after ef til vill, að óþörfu). You wouldn’t use a subjunctive here. If you wanted a purpose clause instead, you could say:
“Hann talar hægt til að ég geti skilið hann vel.”
where geti is subjunctive after til að.

Why does hann appear twice, and why are they spelled identically?

The first hann is the subject in the nominative case; the second hann is the object in the accusative case. In Icelandic, the third-person masculine singular pronoun has the same form (hann) in both nominative and accusative, but they function grammatically as different cases.

What about vel at the end? Could we use gott or place it elsewhere?

vel is the adverb meaning “well” and modifies skil. You cannot use gott (“good”) here because that’s an adjective, not an adverb. Adverbs in Icelandic typically follow the verb or appear at the clause’s end. You could add intensity: ég skil hann mjög vel (“I understand him very well”).

Can you replace svo with þannig að, and would the meaning change?

Yes. þannig að also introduces a result or explanatory clause:
“Hann talar hægt þannig að ég skil hann vel.”
It’s slightly more formal or explicit (“in such a way that…”), but the core meaning remains “He speaks slowly so I understand him well.”

If I wanted to highlight intention rather than result, how would I rephrase it?

You’d use a purpose clause with til að (or til þess að) plus a modal/subjunctive if needed:
• Hann talar hægt til að ég skilji hann vel. (subjunctive skilji, more formal)
• Hann talar hægt til að ég geti skilið hann vel. (“so that I can understand him well,” using the subjunctive of geta)
This shifts the nuance from “this is what happens” to “this is what he intends.”