Questions & Answers about Beygðu til vinstri við bankann og haltu svo til hægri.
What form is the verb in bold in Beygðu, and how is it formed?
It’s the 2nd-person singular imperative of beygja “to turn.” Verbs with a stem ending in g/k (especially those in -gja) often take the singular imperative ending -ðu:
- beygja → beygðu “turn!”
- segja → segðu “say!”
- þegja → þegðu “be quiet!”
The plural imperative (addressing more than one person) is formed with -ið: beygið.
Why is it haltu and not something like “halda”?
Haltu is the 2nd-person singular imperative of halda “to hold/keep.” It’s irregular in the singular imperative:
- singular imperative: haltu “keep!”
- plural imperative: haldið “keep!” (to more than one person)
So in directions, to one person you say Haltu til hægri, to several people Haldið til hægri.
Why is it við bankann? What case does við take?
Við governs the accusative case when it means “at/by/next to/against.” The noun is therefore in the accusative definite:
- nominative: bankinn “the bank”
- accusative: bankann “the bank” (after við)
So: við bankann = “at/by the bank (building).”