Það er hennar ábyrgð að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.

It is her responsibility to follow the rules at the gym.

Breakdown of Það er hennar ábyrgð að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.

• vera: to be
• það: it
• í: at
• fylgja: to follow
• hennar: her
• reglan: the rule
• líkamsræktin: the gym
• ábyrgðin: the responsibility

Questions & Answers about Það er hennar ábyrgð að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.

What does „Það er“ do in this sentence? Is „það“ referring to something specific?

Here „Það er“ is mostly a dummy subject, like English “It is …” in “It is her responsibility to…”.

• It doesn’t refer to any concrete object.
• It’s a very common pattern: „Það er [X] að [verb]…“ = “It is [X] to [verb]…”
  
  • Það er erfitt að læra íslensku. – It is hard to learn Icelandic.
  • Það er gaman að synda. – It is fun to swim.

So „Það er hennar ábyrgð að…“ = “It is her responsibility to…” rather than “That is her responsibility…” in a pointing sense (though context can give it that meaning too).

Why is it „hennar“ and not „hún“, „hana“, or „henni“?

Icelandic „hún“ (she) has four main cases:

• hún – nominative (subject)
• hana – accusative (direct object)
• henni – dative (indirect object, after some prepositions/verbs)
• hennar – genitive (possession)

In „hennar ábyrgð“, you’re expressing possession: “her responsibility”, so you need the genitive:

• hennar ábyrgð = her responsibility
• Compare:
  • bíllinn hennar – her car
  • húsið hennar – her house

So „hennar“ here is the possessive genitive, just like English “her” in “her responsibility”.

Why is „ábyrgð“ without the definite article? Could it be „ábyrgðin“?

„ábyrgð“ means “responsibility” (a feminine noun).

• ábyrgð = responsibility (indefinite)
• ábyrgðin = the responsibility (definite)

In English, we usually say “It is her responsibility to follow the rules” (no “the”), so Icelandic also uses the indefinite form:

• Það er hennar ábyrgð að fylgja reglunum…
  It is her responsibility to follow the rules…

You could say:

• Það er ábyrgð hennar að fylgja reglunum…

This is also correct, just a slightly different word order and emphasis. But „ábyrgðin“ would normally imply some specific, already identified responsibility.

What is the role of „að“ before „fylgja“?

Here „að“ is the infinitive marker, just like English “to” before a verb:

• að fylgja = to follow
• að borða = to eat
• að læra = to learn

So „að fylgja reglunum“ = “to follow the rules”.

Don’t confuse this with „að“ as a conjunction meaning “that” in sentences like:

• Ég veit að hann kemur. – I know that he is coming.

Why is „reglunum“ in that form? What case is it, and what is the base word?

The base noun is „regla“ – “rule” (feminine).

• regla – a rule (nom. sg.)
• reglur – rules (nom. pl.)
• reglurnar – the rules (nom. pl. definite)

In the sentence we have „reglunum“:

• the ending -um signals dative plural definite: „the rules“ as an object in dative case.

The reason it’s dative is the verb:

• að fylgja e-u – to follow something – takes the dative.

So:

• að fylgja reglunum = to follow the rules
  (literally: to follow the-rules-DAT.PL)

Why is „líkamsræktinni“ in that form, and what does this word literally mean?

„líkamsrækt“ is a compound:

• líkami – body
• rækt – cultivation/training

Together: „líkamsrækt“ ≈ body training / physical exercise, and by extension “gym / fitness center” in modern usage.

In „í líkamsræktinni“:

• í = in/at
• líkamsrækt = gym / workout (noun)
• -inni = feminine dative singular definite ending

So „líkamsræktinni“ is dative singular definite: “the gym” / “the fitness center” in a location phrase.

Because „í“ with static location usually takes the dative:

• í skólanum – in the school (dat.)
• í bílnum – in the car (dat.)
• í líkamsræktinni – in/at the gym (dat.)

Why does „í“ take the dative case here? Could it ever take accusative?

The preposition „í“ (in, into) can take dative or accusative, depending on meaning:

• Dative for location / being somewhere:

  • Hann er í skólanum. – He is in school.
  • Við erum í líkamsræktinni. – We are at the gym.

• Accusative for movement into something:

  • Hann fer í skólann. – He goes to school.
  • Við förum í líkamsræktina. – We go to the gym.

In your sentence, it’s about following the rules in the gym (location), so dative is used: „í líkamsræktinni“.

Why is it „að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni“ and not something like „fylgja reglur í líkamsrækt“?

There are three key points:

1. Verb + case:
   fylgja always takes the dative:

   • fylgja reglunum – follow the rules (DAT.PL)

2. Definiteness:
   In this context, we mean the rules of that gym, and the gym itself:

   • reglunum – the rules (dat. pl. def.)
   • líkamsræktinni – the gym (dat. sg. def.)

3. Natural phrasing:
   You could theoretically say something like „fylgja reglum í líkamsrækt“ (without articles), but it would sound quite off or incomplete in normal speech. The natural, idiomatic form is with the definite forms:

   • að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni
     = to follow the rules in the gym.

Can I change the word order to „Það er ábyrgð hennar að fylgja reglunum…“? Does it sound different?

Yes, you can say:

• Það er hennar ábyrgð að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.
• Það er ábyrgð hennar að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.

Both are grammatically correct and mean the same thing.

Nuance:

• hennar ábyrgð (possessive first) often feels a bit more personal/emphatic on „her“.
• ábyrgð hennar is a bit more neutral or formal in tone, stressing the noun „ábyrgð“ slightly more.

In everyday speech, „hennar ábyrgð“ is very common and perfectly natural.

Could I drop „Það er“ and say „Hennar ábyrgð er að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni“?

You can say:

• Hennar ábyrgð er að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.

This is correct Icelandic, but the style is a bit more formal/structured, similar to English:

• Her responsibility is to follow the rules in the gym.

The version with „Það er … að …“ is extremely common and often feels more natural in everyday speech:

• Það er hennar ábyrgð að fylgja reglunum í líkamsræktinni.
  It is her responsibility to follow the rules in the gym.

How is this sentence pronounced? Any tricky sounds I should watch for?

A rough pronunciation guide (not perfect IPA, but close enough to help):

• Það – [θaːð] (like th-aa-th; ð is a soft th as in “this”)
• er – [ɛr]
• hennar – [ˈhɛnar]
• ábyrgð – [ˈauːbʏrɡθ]
  
  • á like ow in “cow”
  • final ð here is usually devoiced to [θ]
• að – [aːð]
• fylgja – [ˈfɪlca] or [ˈfɪljca] (lj = palatal l, similar to “ly”)
• reglunum – [ˈrɛklʏnʏm] (the g is often very light or almost gone)
• í – [iː] (like English “ee”)
• líkamsræktinni – roughly [ˈliːkʰamsˌraix̯tɪnɪ]
  
  • lí like “lee”
  • æ like “eye”
  • kt often pronounced close to [xt]

Main stress is on the first syllable of each word:
Það ER HEN-nar ÁU-byrgð að FYL-gja REG-lu-num í LÍ-kams-rækt-inni.