Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Skulum við hitta hana í hádeginu og tala rólega? - Shall we meet her at noon and speak quietly?

Skulum is the 1st‑person plural present of the modal verb skulu. In the pattern Skulum við ... ? it makes a polite suggestion: “Shall we …?” In a statement (no question), Við skulum … is a firm proposal or commitment (“We shall/Let’s …”).

Why are hitta and tala in the infinitive, and why is there no að?

Icelandic modals (like skulu, geta, vilja) take a bare infinitive, so you say skulum [verb] without að. When coordinating two actions under the same modal, both stay in the infinitive: skulum hitta … og tala ….

Is Skulum við …? the usual way to say “Shall we …?” Are there softer alternatives?

Yes, it’s very common. Alternatives:

Eigum við að …? = “Should we …?” (softer, more tentative)
Ættum við að …? = “Ought we to …?” (even more tentative/hypothetical)
Getum við …? = “Can we …?” (asks about possibility/permission)
Viltu …? = “Do you want to …?” (addressing one person directly)

Can I drop the subject and say just Skulum hitta hana …?

With skulum, you normally keep við. You can leave out the subject in a true “let’s” imperative like Förum! (“Let’s go!”), but with the modal form, say Skulum við ….

Why is it hana and not henni?

Because hitta (“to meet”) takes the accusative. The pronoun for “she/her” declines:

nominative: hún
accusative: hana
dative: henni
genitive: hennar So: hitta hana (meet her). Verbs like mæta (“to attend/meet, show up to”) take the dative: mæta henni.

What’s the difference between hitta hana and mæta henni?

hitta hana = meet her (by arrangement or by chance).
mæta henni = run into her / encounter her (literally “meet to her,” dative; also “attend” when it’s an event). If you two meet each other by arrangement, you can also use the reciprocal: hittast (e.g., Skulum við hittast …? = “Shall we meet (each other) …?”).

Why is it í hádeginu? Could I say something else for the time?

í hádeginu uses dative with í for a point in time (“at noon/at lunchtime”) and the definite form is idiomatic here.
Alternatives:
- um hádegi = “around noon”
- klukkan tólf = “at twelve o’clock”

What does the ending -inu in hádeginu mean?

It’s the definite dative singular ending. hádegi is a neuter noun (“noon, midday”). Definite forms:

nominative/accusative: hádegið
dative: hádeginu Because time expressions with í are often definite, you get í hádeginu (“at noon/lunchtime”).

Is the word order normal for a yes/no question?

Yes. In polar questions Icelandic places the finite verb first: Skulum (verb) við (subject) …? The statement order would be Við skulum …. To answer:

Yes: Já (or Jú if you’re answering a negative question—see below)
No: Nei

How do I make the suggestion negative, and how do people answer it?

Put ekki after the subject: Skulum við ekki hitta hana …? = “Shall we not meet her …?” If someone agrees with a negative question, they say Jú (“Yes, we should”). Disagreeing: Nei.

Why not say og tölum rólega at the end?

Because you already have the modal skulum, the following verbs stay in the infinitive: hitta … og tala …. Switching to tölum would change the structure mid‑sentence. If you drop the modal entirely, then you’d say: Við tölum rólega.

Does rólega mean “slowly”?

Usually no. rólega = “calmly, gently, quietly (in manner).”

For “slowly,” use hægt or hægar: tala hægt / tala hægar.
For “quietly/soft voice,” you can also say tala lágt (“speak in a low voice”). So:
tala rólega = speak calmly/gently
tala hægt/hægar = speak slowly/more slowly
tala lágt = speak quietly/softly

If I mean “talk to her,” do I need við?

Yes: tala við hana = “talk to her.” Your sentence without við hana just describes the manner of speaking in general. To be explicit: Skulum við … og tala rólega við hana?

Do I need to repeat að before the second verb if I use another modal like eigum?

With eigum við að …, you can either let að scope over both verbs or repeat it:

Eigum við að hitta hana og tala rólega? (most common)
Eigum við að hitta hana og að tala rólega? (also possible, a bit heavier) With skulum, there is never an að.

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky bits?

við: the ð is like the voiced th in “this.”
hitta: short i; double tt = a strong/doubled t: roughly “HIT-ta.”
í: long ee sound.
hádeginu: stress on the first syllable of há; roughly “HAU-day-in-uh.”
rólega: stress on ró; the ó is like long “oh”: “ROH-le-ga.”
Skulum: u like in “put”: roughly “SKU-lum.”