Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Mér finnst íslenska falleg þegar ég skil hana. - I think Icelandic is beautiful when I understand it.

finnst is the impersonal form of finna (to find), but in this construction it means something like to seem or to feel (in my opinion).
The “experiencer” (the person who feels/thinks) is in the dative:
- mér finnst… – I think…
- þér finnst… – you think…
- honum finnst… – he thinks…
- henni finnst… – she thinks…

So you never say ég finnst; you always say mér finnst to mean I think / I find.

What case is mér, and why is it used here?

Mér is the dative singular form of ég (I).

In Icelandic, many verbs of feeling, liking, or experiencing something use the dative for the person who experiences it. With finnst, the pattern is:

[dative experiencer] + finnst + [nominative thing] + [adjective]

So:

Mér finnst íslenska falleg.
Literally: To me seems Icelandic beautiful.

Other examples with dative:

Mér er kalt. – I’m cold. (Literally: To me is cold.)
Okkur líkar þetta. – We like this. (Literally: To us likes this.)

So mér is required by this pattern; ég (nominative) doesn’t work here.

What exactly does finnst mean here, and how is it different from finna and líka?

Here finnst means something like “to think / to find (in the sense of opinion) / to feel that”.

finna (active verb):
- Basic meaning: to find (physically or mentally).
- Example: Ég finn lykilinn. – I find the key. / I feel the key.
- Conjugation: ég finn, þú finnur, hann finnur, etc.
finnast (the middle/impersonal form; here finnst):
- Used for opinions or how something seems to someone:
- Mér finnst þetta gott. – I think this is good / This seems good to me.
líka:
- Means “to like” (again with dative):
- Mér líkar íslenska. – I like Icelandic.
- It doesn’t take an adjective directly; you just “like” the noun.

So:

Mér finnst íslenska falleg. – I think Icelandic is beautiful. (opinion with an adjective)
Mér líkar íslenska. – I like Icelandic. (simple “like”)

Why is it íslenska and not some other form like íslensku or íslenskan?

In this sentence, íslenska is the subject of the clause “íslenska falleg”, so it must be in the nominative singular.

Íslenska is a feminine noun meaning Icelandic (language).
Its nominative singular form is íslenska.

The pattern is:

Mér finnst [nominative subject] [adjective in nominative].
→ Mér finnst íslenska falleg.

Other forms exist, but they would be used in different roles:

íslensku – dative/accusative/genitive singular (depending on context)
íslenskan – definite nominative singular: the Icelandic (language)

Here we’re talking about Icelandic in general as a subject, so nominative indefinite: íslenska is correct.

Why doesn’t the sentence say íslenskan (with the definite ending) for “the Icelandic (language)”?

You can say Mér finnst íslenskan falleg, but there’s a nuance:

Mér finnst íslenska falleg.
- More general: I think Icelandic is beautiful as a language overall.
Mér finnst íslenskan falleg.
- Slightly more specific or contrastive: I find the Icelandic (language) beautiful, maybe in a context where you’re comparing it to other languages or talking about “this particular language we’ve been discussing”.

In many neutral, general statements about a language, Icelandic often omits the definite article, so íslenska is typical here.

Why is the adjective falleg in that form, and not fallegt or fallegur?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun they describe in gender, number, and case.

íslenska here is:
- gender: feminine
- number: singular
- case: nominative (subject)

So falleg must match that:

Feminine, singular, nominative: falleg
Masculine, singular, nominative: fallegur
Neuter, singular, nominative: fallegt

Thus:

íslenska (fem.) falleg (fem.) – correct
íslenska fallegt – wrong (neuter adjective with a feminine noun)
íslenska fallegur – wrong (masculine adjective with a feminine noun)

Why is it þegar ég skil hana and not þegar ég skil það?

The pronoun must agree with the noun it refers to in gender and number.

íslenska (Icelandic, the language) is feminine singular.
The 3rd person feminine singular accusative pronoun is hana (“her”).

So:

þegar ég skil hana = when I understand it (her), where “her” = the (feminine) Icelandic language.

Það is neuter, so it would refer to a neuter noun. Since íslenska is feminine, það would be grammatically wrong here.

Why is skil in the present tense? Could you use another tense?

Skil is the present indicative of skilja (to understand).

The structure þegar + present tense is used, as in English, for general, repeated, or habitual situations:

Mér finnst íslenska falleg þegar ég skil hana.
= I find Icelandic beautiful when(ever) I understand it.

You could change the tense to talk about a different time frame:

Mér fannst íslenska falleg þegar ég skildi hana.
– I found Icelandic beautiful when I understood it. (in the past)

But with the meaning “whenever I understand it / in general”, present is the natural choice.

Can the word order be different, for example Mér finnst falleg íslenska or Íslenska finnst mér falleg?

Yes, Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible, but it affects emphasis.

Mér finnst íslenska falleg.
Neutral: “I think Icelandic is beautiful.”
Íslenska finnst mér falleg.
- Puts íslenska first for emphasis.
- Roughly: As for Icelandic, I find it beautiful.
- Still perfectly correct.
Mér finnst falleg íslenska.
- Grammatically possible, but more marked; sounds like you’re stressing falleg as an attribute of íslenska, a bit like English I find beautiful Icelandic (which is unusual unless contrasting it with something else).
- More natural in Icelandic is to keep noun + adjective or noun ... adjective (with the adjective at the normal spot after the noun or after the verb phrase as we have).

So the given order Mér finnst íslenska falleg is the most neutral and typical.

Could I say Mér líkar íslenska instead of Mér finnst íslenska falleg? What’s the difference?

You can say Mér líkar íslenska, but it doesn’t mean exactly the same thing.

Mér líkar íslenska.
- Means “I like Icelandic.”
- Simple statement of liking.
Mér finnst íslenska falleg.
- Means “I think Icelandic is beautiful.”
- Expresses an opinion with an adjective (beautiful).

If you just want to say you like the language, Mér líkar íslenska is fine.
If you want to comment on its beauty, you need Mér finnst íslenska falleg.

Why is there no comma before þegar in Mér finnst íslenska falleg þegar ég skil hana?

In Icelandic, a comma before conjunctions like þegar (when), að (that), ef (if), etc., is not always required the way it often is in English.

Mér finnst íslenska falleg þegar ég skil hana. – normal and correct.
You might see: Mér finnst íslenska falleg, þegar ég skil hana.
but this comma is usually only used if you want a stronger pause or contrast.

In everyday writing, the version without the comma is the standard, natural choice here.