Foreldrar mínir leyfa mér að vaka lengur um helgar.

My parents allow me to stay up longer on weekends.

Breakdown of Foreldrar mínir leyfa mér að vaka lengur um helgar.

• minn: my
• mér: me
• foreldrið: the parent
• lengur: longer
• um: on
• helgin: the weekend
• leyfa: to allow
• vaka: to stay up

Questions & Answers about Foreldrar mínir leyfa mér að vaka lengur um helgar.

Why does the possessive pronoun mínir come after foreldrar, not before it?

In Icelandic, possessive pronouns usually come after the noun in neutral, everyday statements:

• foreldrar mínir = my parents
• bróðir minn = my brother
• húsið mitt = my house

Putting the possessive before the noun (mínir foreldrar) is possible, but it sounds more emphatic or contrastive, like:

• Mínir foreldrar leyfa mér það, en þínir foreldrar ekki.
  = My parents allow me that, but your parents don’t.

So foreldrar mínir is the normal, unmarked word order here.

What exactly is the role of mínir in this sentence?

Mínir is the possessive pronoun “my”, and it has to agree with foreldrar in:

• gender: foreldrar = masculine
• number: foreldrar = plural
• case: here, foreldrar is nominative (subject)

So you get:

• masc. nom. pl. of minn (my) → mínir
• hence: foreldrar mínir = my parents

Why is it mér and not mig or ég after leyfa?

Icelandic pronouns change form depending on case:

• ég = I (nominative)
• mig = me (accusative)
• mér = me (dative)
• mín = of me / my (genitive)

The verb leyfa (to allow, permit) takes a dative object for the person who is allowed to do something:

• leyfa mér = allow me (dative)
• leyfa þér = allow you (dative)
• leyfa okkur = allow us (dative)

So mér is required by the verb; mig (accusative) would be ungrammatical here.

What is the construction leyfa mér að vaka? How do I use leyfa generally?

The pattern is:

leyfa + [person in dative] + að + [infinitive]
= allow/permit [someone] to [do something]

Examples:

• Foreldrar mínir leyfa mér að vaka lengur.
  My parents let me stay up longer.
• Kennarinn leyfir okkur að fara fyrr.
  The teacher allows us to leave earlier.
• Leyfirðu mér að spyrja?
  Will you allow me to ask?

So in the sentence:

• leyfa = allow (3rd person plural)
• mér = to me (dative)
• að vaka = to stay awake / stay up

What is the difference between vaka and vakna?

They look similar but mean different things:

• vaka = to be awake, to stay awake / stay up
  
  • að vaka lengur = to stay up longer
• vakna = to wake up (from sleep)
  
  • að vakna snemma = to wake up early

So vaka is about remaining awake, and vakna is about becoming awake.
Here, vaka lengur correctly matches the idea of stay up later.

Why is it lengur and not lengi?

• lengi = for a long time
• lengur = longer (comparative of lengi)

In English we say “later” or “longer” here. Icelandic uses lengur to express that comparative idea:

• Ég má vaka lengi. = I’m allowed to stay up for a long time.
• Ég má vaka lengur. = I’m allowed to stay up longer / later (than usual, than others, etc.)

In this sentence, your parents let you stay up longer than usual, so lengur is the correct form.

What does um mean in um helgar, and why is it used for time?

The preposition um has several meanings (about, around, during), and one common use is to talk about something happening around / during a time period.

• um helgar literally: around/during weekends → idiomatically: on weekends
• um jólin = at / over Christmas
• um sumarið = in (the) summer

With um and a time word, you often get a meaning like “on / during” in English. So:

• vaka lengur um helgar = stay up longer on weekends

Why helgar (plural) instead of a singular like helgi?

Helgi = weekend (feminine noun)

• singular:
  
  • nom. helgi
  • acc. helgi
• plural:
  
  • nom. helgar
  • acc. helgar

In um helgar, um takes the accusative plural, and the plural here expresses repeated time:

• um helgar = on weekends (in general, regularly)
• um helgina = over the weekend / this weekend (specific)

So um helgar means this happens on weekends in general, not just one particular weekend.

Is there a word for “the” in foreldrar mínir, or is that idea missing?

Icelandic doesn’t use a separate word “the” here. Instead, definiteness is often expressed by:

1. Possessives (my, your, his, etc.) – which already make the noun specific:

   • foreldrar mínir = my parents (no extra “the” needed)

2. Definite endings attached to the noun:

   • foreldrarnir = the parents
   • hundurinn = the dog
   • húsið = the house

You don’t say something like “the my parents” – just:

• foreldrar mínir = my parents
• vinur minn = my friend

Why is the verb leyfa in the second position? Could I say Leyfa foreldrar mínir mér…?

Icelandic main clauses follow a verb-second (V2) word order rule, similar to German:

1. One element in first position (often the subject)
2. The finite verb in second position

Here:

• 1st position: Foreldrar mínir (subject)
• 2nd position: leyfa (finite verb)
• then: mér að vaka lengur um helgar

So Foreldrar mínir leyfa mér… is correct V2 word order.

Leyfa foreldrar mínir mér… puts the verb first and the subject second; that would be used only in yes/no questions:

• Leyfa foreldrar mínir mér að vaka lengur um helgar?
  = Do my parents let me stay up later on weekends?

How would I say “My parents don’t let me stay up later on weekends” in Icelandic? Where does ekki go?

You negate the sentence with ekki, usually placed after the finite verb (and before most of the rest):

• Foreldrar mínir leyfa mér ekki að vaka lengur um helgar.
  = My parents don’t let me stay up later on weekends.

Structure:

• Foreldrar mínir (subject)
• leyfa (finite verb)
• mér (dative object)
• ekki (negation)
• að vaka lengur um helgar (infinitive clause)