Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Kennarinn lætur nemendur tala íslensku í tímanum. - The teacher makes the students speak Icelandic in class.

Kennarinn – the teacher
- kennari = teacher
- -nn = the (definite article attached to the noun)
lætur – makes / lets
- 3rd person singular present of láta (to make / cause / let)
nemendur – students
- plural of nemandi (student)
tala – speak
- infinitive form (to speak)
íslensku – Icelandic (as a language)
- accusative form of íslenska
í tímanum – in the class / in the lesson
- í = in
- tímanum = the class/lesson (dative singular of tími, with -num = the)

Why is kennarinn definite (“the teacher”) but nemendur is just “students” without “the”?

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun:

kennari → kennarinn = the teacher
nemandi → nemandinn = the student
nemendur → nemendurnir = the students

In this sentence:

Kennarinn refers to a specific, known teacher – the teacher.
nemendur is used generically for “students” (not a specific, previously defined group), so it stays indefinite.

If you said:

Kennarinn lætur nemendurna tala íslensku í tímanum.

that would mean The teacher makes *the students speak Icelandic in class* – now pointing to a particular group of students already known in the context.

What exactly is lætur, and what is its base form?

Lætur is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb láta.

Infinitive: láta – to make, to cause, to have (someone do something), sometimes to let/allow
Conjugation (present):
- ég læt – I make/let
- þú lætur – you make/let
- hann/hún/það lætur – he/she/it makes/lets
- við látum – we make/let
- þið látið – you (pl.) make/let
- þeir/þær/þau láta – they make/let

So Kennarinn lætur… literally: The teacher makes/has…

Is nemendur the subject or the object here, and what case is it in?

Logically, nemendur is the object of lætur:

Kennarinn (subject)
lætur (verb “makes/has”)
nemendur (the ones being made to do something)

Grammatically, láta in this structure usually takes the object in the accusative case.

For nemandi (student), the forms are:

Nominative plural: nemendur
Accusative plural: nemendur

So nominative and accusative plural look the same. In this sentence, nemendur is accusative (object), but its form happens to coincide with the nominative form.

Why is tala not obviously conjugated for “they” (students)? Isn’t it missing something?

Tala here is in the infinitive, because of the verb láta.

The pattern is:

láta
- object (accusative) + infinitive

So:

Kennarinn lætur nemendur tala íslensku.
= The teacher makes the students speak Icelandic.

Even though the logical subject of tala is nemendur (plural), Icelandic still uses the infinitive after láta, not a conjugated finite verb.

By coincidence, the infinitive tala and the present-tense tala for “they speak” are spelled the same, but in this structure it is grammatically an infinitive.

Why is there no að (like “to”) before tala?

Icelandic often uses að before an infinitive, but certain verbs drop að in specific constructions.

With láta in the causative meaning (“make/have someone do something”), the usual pattern is:

láta
- object + bare infinitive (no að)

So you say:

Kennarinn lætur nemendur tala íslensku.
The teacher makes the students speak Icelandic.

but not:

❌ Kennarinn lætur nemendur að tala íslensku.

Other verbs that often take a bare infinitive in similar ways include skulu, munu, geta, vilja, etc.

Does lætur here mean “makes” or “lets”? How would I say each clearly?

Láta can cover both ideas (“make” and “let / have”), and context decides the nuance.

In this sentence, Kennarinn lætur nemendur tala íslensku í tímanum is most naturally understood as:

The teacher *makes/has the students speak Icelandic in class.*
(i.e. it’s a rule or requirement)

If you specifically want allow / let, Icelandic normally uses leyfa:

Kennarinn leyfir nemendum að tala íslensku í tímanum.
The teacher lets/allows the students to speak Icelandic in class.

For a strong “force” meaning, context or extra words can emphasize it:

Kennarinn neitar að tala ensku og lætur nemendur tala íslensku.
The teacher refuses to speak English and makes the students speak Icelandic.

Why is it íslensku and not íslenska?

Íslenska is a feminine noun meaning “Icelandic (language)”. Its main singular forms are:

Nominative: íslenska
Accusative: íslensku
Dative: íslensku
Genitive: íslensku

With the verb tala (to speak) and a language as the direct object, Icelandic normally uses the accusative:

tala íslensku – to speak Icelandic
tala ensku – to speak English
tala frönsku – to speak French

So íslensku here is the accusative form, functioning as the object of tala.

What does í tímanum literally mean, and why is tímanum in that form?

Í tímanum literally means in the class / in the lesson.

Breaking it down:

í – in
tími – time, but also “class period / lesson” in school contexts
tímanum – dative singular definite of tími

Forms of tími (singular):

Nominative: tími
Accusative: tíma
Dative: tíma
Genitive: tíma
Definite dative: tímanum (tími + inn + um)

The preposition í can take accusative or dative:

í
- accusative: movement into (into something)
í
- dative: location in (inside something)

Here it’s about location (“in class”), so í takes the dative, giving í tímanum.

Could the word order be different, like putting í tímanum at the front?

Yes, Icelandic word order is flexible for emphasis and topic–comment structure, as long as the core relationships are clear.

These are all grammatical:

Kennarinn lætur nemendur tala íslensku í tímanum.
Neutral: The teacher makes the students speak Icelandic in class.
Í tímanum lætur kennarinn nemendur tala íslensku.
Fronts “in class” for emphasis: In class, the teacher makes the students speak Icelandic.
Kennarinn lætur í tímanum nemendur tala íslensku.
Possible, but less natural; usually the object nemendur stays close to láta.

However, this is not natural:

❌ Kennarinn lætur tala íslensku nemendur í tímanum.

The typical pattern with láta is:

subject – lætur – object – infinitive – (other stuff)

How would I say something similar using “have to” instead of “make/let”?

If you want to express obligation (“have to / must”), you don’t use láta, but verbs like verða or eiga + að + infinitive:

Nemendur verða að tala íslensku í tímanum.
Students have to / must speak Icelandic in class.
Nemendur eiga að tala íslensku í tímanum.
Students are supposed to speak Icelandic in class.

Compare:

Kennarinn lætur nemendur tala íslensku í tímanum.
Focus on what the teacher actively does (makes / has them do it).
Nemendur verða að tala íslensku í tímanum.
Focus on the obligation on the students themselves.