Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Strákurinn hlær svo mikið að hann talar ekki. - The boy laughs so much that he does not talk.

The ending -inn is the definite article in Icelandic. Instead of a separate word like English the, Icelandic usually attaches a suffix to the noun.

strákur = boy
strákurinn = the boy

So Strákurinn hlær… literally means “The boy laughs…”
The form strákurinn is nominative singular masculine definite.

Why is Strákurinn in the nominative case?

In Icelandic, the subject of a normal active sentence is in the nominative case.

In this sentence:

Strákurinn = subject (who is doing the laughing and not speaking)
hlær / talar = verbs

Because the boy is the one performing the actions, Strákurinn must be nominative, not accusative or dative.

What does hlær mean exactly, and which form is it?

Hlær is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb að hlæja (to laugh).

So:

ég hlæ – I laugh
þú hlærð – you laugh
hann / hún / það hlær – he / she / it laughs

In the sentence, hlær corresponds to English “laughs” or “is laughing”, depending on context.

How do you pronounce hlær?

Approximate pronunciation:

hl-: a breathy, voiceless l sound. Start with an h-like breath and then l at the same time.
æ: like the i in time or eye, a diphthong [ai].
r: rolled or tapped r.

IPA (approx.): [l̥aiːr]

Rough English approximation: “hlaire”, but with a rolled r and that special breathy hl at the start.

What does svo mikið literally mean, and how is it used?

Svo mikið literally means “so much”.

svo = so / so (much) / so (very)
mikið = much / a lot (neuter form of mikill, much, great)

Together they intensify the verb hlær. So hlær svo mikið = “laughs so much / so hard / so much that…”

This pattern svo + adjective/adverb + að is common for expressing a result:

Hann er svo þreyttur að hann sofnaði í sófanum.
He is so tired that he fell asleep on the sofa.

What is the role of að in svo mikið að hann talar ekki?

Here að is a conjunction meaning “that”, introducing a result clause.

Structure:

[Main clause]: Strákurinn hlær svo mikið…
[Result clause]: …að hann talar ekki.

Together: “The boy laughs so much that he doesn’t speak.”

This að is not the same as að used before infinitives (like að tala = to speak). Here it just links the main clause with its consequence.

Why is the pronoun hann used, and how do we know it refers to Strákurinn?

Hann is the 3rd person singular masculine pronoun: he / him.

Strákurinn is a masculine noun (most -ur nouns are masculine).
So when we refer back to Strákurinn, we use hann.

In að hann talar ekki, hann clearly refers back to Strákurinn from the main clause. Icelandic, like English, uses gendered pronouns consistent with the grammatical gender of the noun.

What tense are hlær and talar, and why are both in the present?

Both hlær and talar are present tense forms:

hlær – (he) laughs
talar – (he) speaks

Even though English might also say “he is laughing”, Icelandic usually just uses the simple present for both “laughs” and “is laughing” unless you explicitly want a progressive aspect like er að hlæja (is laughing).

The result clause uses the same tense because the not-speaking happens at the same time as the laughing.

Why is the word order hann talar ekki and not hann ekki talar?

In a simple clause with one verb, Icelandic places ekki (not) after the finite verb:

hann talar ekki – he does not speak
ég borða ekki kjöt – I do not eat meat

*hann ekki talar is ungrammatical.

If there are auxiliaries, ekki usually comes after the first (finite) verb:

hann hefur ekki talað – he has not spoken
ég mun ekki koma – I will not come

Why is the word order different in the main clause (Strákurinn hlær...) and in the clause after að (að hann talar ekki)?

Icelandic has a verb-second (V2) tendency in main clauses, but subordinate clauses behave differently.

Main clause:
Strákurinn hlær svo mikið…
Subject (Strákurinn) comes first, and the finite verb (hlær) is in second position.
Subordinate clause introduced by að:
…að hann talar ekki.
Here we get að + subject + verb:
að (that) + hann (he) + talar (speaks) + ekki (not).

So:

Main clause: verb must be early (V2).
að-clause: normal pattern is conjunction að, then subject, then verb.

Could we also say Strákurinn er að hlæja svo mikið að hann talar ekki? What’s the difference?

Yes, that is grammatically correct:

Strákurinn hlær svo mikið…
Neutral present: “The boy laughs so much…” / “is laughing so much…”
Strákurinn er að hlæja svo mikið…
More explicitly progressive, like English “The boy is laughing so much…”

Er að + infinitive (e.g. er að hlæja) is often used to emphasize an ongoing action, similar to English continuous forms. Both are fine; context decides which sounds more natural.

Is there a difference between svo mikið and svona mikið here?

Both svo mikið and svona mikið can mean “so much”, but there is a nuance:

svo mikið – more neutral, often used in this fixed svo … að result pattern
svona mikið – slightly more colloquial/demonstrative, like “this much / like this, so much”

In a sentence with a clear result clause, svo mikið að hann talar ekki is the most typical and natural choice.