Hún opnar munninn og hlær hátt.

She opens her mouth and laughs loudly.

Breakdown of Hún opnar munninn og hlær hátt.

• hún: she
• og: and
• opna: to open
• munninn: the mouth
• hlæja: to laugh
• hátt: loudly

Questions & Answers about Hún opnar munninn og hlær hátt.

Why is it Hún and not some other pronoun?

Hún is the 3rd‑person singular feminine pronoun, meaning she.
Icelandic has grammatical gender, so:

• hann = he (masculine)
• hún = she (feminine)
• það = it (neuter)

The subject of the sentence is a female person, so hún is used and it stands in the nominative case as the subject of opnar and hlær.

What is the infinitive of opnar, and why does it end in -ar?

The infinitive is að opna = to open.

Opnar is the 3rd person singular present tense form:

• ég opna – I open
• þú opnar – you open
• hann/hún/það opnar – he/she/it opens
• við opnum – we open
• þið opnið – you (pl.) open
• þeir/þær/þau opna – they open

Many regular Icelandic verbs in -a form the 3rd person singular present with -ar (opna → opnar, tala → talar, spila → spilar, etc.).

Why does munninn have -inn at the end? Why not just munn?

The ending -inn is the definite article (“the”), which in Icelandic is usually attached to the noun as a suffix instead of being a separate word like the in English.

• munn = (a) mouth
• munninn = the mouth

So Hún opnar munninn literally means She opens *the mouth, which in natural English is She opens **her mouth*.

Where is the word her in the Icelandic sentence?

There is no separate word for her here. Icelandic (like several other languages) usually does not use a possessive pronoun with body parts when it’s obvious whose body part it is.

So instead of literally saying:

• She opens *her mouth*

Icelandic simply uses the definite form:

• Hún opnar munninn = She opens *the mouth*

Because she is the subject, it is automatically understood that it is her own mouth.

You could say Hún opnar sinn munn (“She opens her own mouth”), but that sounds more marked or emphatic, and is less idiomatic in a neutral sentence like this.

What case is munninn in, and why?

Munninn is in the accusative singular, definite.

Reason: munninn is the direct object of the verb opnar (what does she open? → the mouth). In Icelandic, direct objects of normal transitive verbs usually take the accusative case.

So:

• Hún – nominative subject
• opnar – verb
• munninn – accusative direct object

What is the dictionary form of munninn, and what are its main forms?

The dictionary form is munnur (masculine noun) = mouth.

Indefinite singular (no “the”):

• Nominative: munnur – (a) mouth
• Accusative: munn
• Dative: munni
• Genitive: munns

Definite singular (with “the” as a suffix):

• Nominative: munnurinn – the mouth
• Accusative: munninn – the mouth
• Dative: munninum – the mouth
• Genitive: munnsins – of the mouth

In the sentence we have accusative definite singular: munninn.

What is the infinitive and basic conjugation of hlær?

The infinitive is að hlæja = to laugh.

Present tense (indicative):

• ég hlæ – I laugh
• þú hlærð – you (sg.) laugh
• hann/hún/það hlær – he/she/it laughs
• við hlæjum – we laugh
• þið hlæið – you (pl.) laugh
• þeir/þær/þau hlæja – they laugh

In the sentence, hlær is 3rd person singular present: she laughs.

How do you pronounce hlær and hátt?

Approximate pronunciation (for English speakers):

• hlær: roughly like “hlahyr” in one syllable

  • hl-: voiceless l sound; the h makes the l breathy. It’s not like English hl; think of a whispered l.
  • æ: like the vowel in English “eye” / “high”
  • final -r: a tapped or trilled r, not the English “r”

  IPA: [l̥aiːr]

• hátt: roughly like “howt” (shorter vowel, stronger final t)

  • á: like “ow” in now
  • tt: a strong, aspirated t sound

  IPA: [hauht]

Stress in Icelandic is always on the first syllable, so Hún ópnar múnninn og hlær hátt (primary stress on each word’s first syllable).

Is hátt an adjective or an adverb here, and what does it literally mean?

In this sentence, hátt functions as an adverb and means loudly.

It comes from the adjective hár (tall, high; also used for loud in the sense of “high volume”). Icelandic very often forms adverbs by using the neuter singular accusative form of an adjective:

• hár (adj.) → hátt (neuter acc. sg.) = high / loudly
• hrár (raw) → hrátt (rawly / in a raw way)
• snöggur (quick) → snöggt (quickly)

So hlær hátt is literally laughs high, but idiomatically laughs loudly.

Could I say Hún hlær upphátt instead of Hún hlær hátt?

Yes, Hún hlær upphátt is also natural and means roughly She laughs out loud.

Nuances:

• hlær hátt – focuses more on the volume (laughs loudly).
• hlær upphátt – commonly used for audible, out‑loud laughter (as opposed to just smiling), similar to English laughs out loud / laughs aloud.

Both are correct; in many contexts they overlap.

Why is the verb second in Hún opnar munninn and Hún hlær hátt? Can I say Hún munninn opnar?

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

• The finite verb (opnar, hlær) normally comes in the second position in the sentence, no matter what comes first.

Here, the subject Hún is first, so the verb is second:

• Hún (1) opnar (2) munninn ...
• Hún (1) hlær (2) hátt.

Hún munninn opnar is not normal word order; it sounds wrong unless you are doing something very marked for poetic or stylistic effect.

Do I need a comma before og in Hún opnar munninn og hlær hátt?

No comma is needed here.

In Icelandic, you generally do not put a comma between two verb phrases joined by og when they share the same subject in a simple sentence:

• Hún opnar munninn og hlær hátt. – correct, no comma
• A comma might appear in more complex sentences (e.g., different subjects, subordinate clauses), but not in this simple coordination.