Foreldrar mínir láta mig fara snemma að sofa á virkum dögum.

the day

Breakdown of Foreldrar mínir láta mig fara snemma að sofa á virkum dögum.

• fara: to go
• mig: me
• sofa: to sleep

Questions & Answers about Foreldrar mínir láta mig fara snemma að sofa á virkum dögum.

Why is it foreldrar mínir and not mínir foreldrar for my parents?

In Icelandic, possessive pronouns like minn / mín / mitt usually come after the noun, not before it.

• foreldrar mínir = my parents (normal, neutral way to say it)
• mínir foreldrar is possible, but it sounds marked and usually adds emphasis, like my parents (as opposed to someone else’s parents).

So foreldrar mínir is the standard, unmarked word order.

Why is the form mínir used here and not minn, mín, or mitt?

The possessive pronoun must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:

• foreldrar = parents
  
  • gender: masculine
  • number: plural
  • case: nominative (subject of the sentence)

The nominative plural masculine form of minn is mínir, so we get:

• foreldrar mínir = my parents

Other forms for comparison (nominative only):

• masculine: minn (sg), mínir (pl)
• feminine: mín (sg), mínar (pl)
• neuter: mitt (sg), mín (pl)

What exactly is the structure of láta mig fara? Why do we use láta plus another verb?