Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Beygðu til vinstri við bankann og haltu svo til hægri. - Turn left at the bank and then keep to the right.

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).”

What’s going on with the ending in bankann?

You’re seeing two things at once:

definite article attached to the noun: banki
- “the” → bankinn (nominative)
accusative case after við: bankinn → bankann

Hence the double n: -ann is the accusative singular definite ending for many masculine nouns.

Why is it til vinstri and til hægri? Doesn’t til take the genitive?

Normally, yes: til takes the genitive (e.g., til Reykjavíkur). But in the fixed directional phrases til vinstri “to the left” and til hægri “to the right,” vinstri and hægri function adverbially and don’t inflect for case. Treat these as set expressions used with turning/positioning verbs:

beygja til vinstri / til hægri
halda til vinstri / til hægri

Could I use á instead of til for directions?

Not in this pattern. For “turn left/right,” Icelandic uses beygja til vinstri/hægri. You will see á with some landmarks/places (e.g., á gatnamótunum “at the intersection”), but the directional phrase itself is with til:

natural: Beygðu til vinstri (við bankann).
unnatural: ✗ Beygðu á vinstri.

What does svo do here, and could I use þá instead?

Here svo means “then/next,” linking the second instruction. Þá can also mean “then,” and both are common in step-by-step instructions. Nuance:

svo feels slightly more colloquial/sequential (“and then…”).
þá often has a more temporal or conditional feel (“in that case/then”), but is fine in directions.

Word order is flexible:

… og haltu svo til hægri.
… og svo haltu til hægri.
Svo haltu til hægri.

Is the word order around the landmark flexible? Could I say “Turn at the bank to the left”?

Yes, both are natural:

Beygðu til vinstri við bankann.
Beygðu við bankann til vinstri.

Putting the landmark earlier can emphasize the turning point; putting the direction earlier can emphasize which way to turn.

Why not hjá bankanum instead of við bankann?

Hjá (dative) often means “at someone’s place/with/near” and is used for being located at or associated with something (e.g., Hann vinnur hjá bankanum “He works at the bank”). For a turning point “at/by the bank (building),” use við + accusative: við bankann. So:

turning point: við bankann (accusative)
working/being situated with: hjá bankanum (dative)

What’s the difference between halda til hægri and beygja til hægri?

beygja til hægri = “turn right” (a distinct turn)
halda til hægri = “keep to the right” (maintain rightward position/lane/side)

In the sentence, you first make a left turn, then maintain the right side.

Why is it “the bank” and not “a bank”?

Icelandic commonly uses the definite form with a landmark in directions, even if the listener is just going to recognize it when they see it. It’s like saying “turn left at the bank (that’s there).” Using the indefinite (við banka) is possible in principle but sounds odd in this context.

How would I give the plural/you-all version of the whole sentence?

Singular (to one person): Beygðu til vinstri við bankann og haltu svo til hægri.
Plural (to several people): Beygið til vinstri við bankann og haldið svo til hægri.

How do I negate an instruction like this?

Use ekki with the imperative:

Ekki beygja til vinstri við bankann. or Beygðu ekki til vinstri við bankann. (“Don’t turn left at the bank.”)
Ekki halda til hægri. / Haltu ekki til hægri. (“Don’t keep to the right.”)

Both placements of ekki are used; starting with Ekki is common on signs.

Any quick pronunciation tips for tricky bits?

ey (in beygðu) sounds like English “ay” in “day.”
ð (in beygðu, við) is like the voiced “th” in “this.”
Double n in bankann gives a clear, long n; the nk cluster is like English “bank.”
æ (in hægri) is like “eye.”
svo starts with an s + v cluster; say it as one syllable “svó.”