Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara í líkamsrækt reglulega, því vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt.

The doctor advises her to do physical exercise regularly, because the problem is not serious.

Breakdown of Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara í líkamsrækt reglulega, því vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt.

• vera: to be
• ekki: not
• fara: to go
• í: to
• læknirinn: the doctor
• vandamálið: the problem
• henni: her
• því: because
• alvarlegur: serious
• ráðleggja: to advise
• líkamsrækt: the physical exercise
• reglulega: regularly

Questions & Answers about Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara í líkamsrækt reglulega, því vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt.

Why is it henni and not hana after ráðleggur?

Henni is in the dative case; hana would be accusative.

The verb ráðleggja (to advise) takes the person who receives the advice in the dative case:

• að ráðleggja einhverjum eitthvað
  = to advise someone (dat.) something (acc.)

So:

• læknirinn ráðleggur henni …
  = the doctor advises her … (her = indirect object, dative)

Forms of hún (she):

• nominative: hún
• accusative: hana
• dative: henni
• genitive: hennar

Because she is the person being advised (indirect object), dative henni is required, not accusative hana.

What exactly does ráðleggur mean, and how is ráðleggja used?

Ráðleggur is the 3rd person singular present of ráðleggja = to advise, to recommend (by giving advice).

Patterns:

• ráðleggja einhverjum að + inf.
  to advise someone to do something

  • Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara í líkamsrækt.
    The doctor advises her to go to the gym.

• ráðleggja einhverjum eitthvað
  to advise someone something

  • Hann ráðlagði mér varkárni.
    He advised me caution.

Comparison:

• ráðleggja – to give advice in a somewhat formal, explicit way.
• mæla með einhverju – to recommend something (often products, options):
  Ég mæli með þessari bók.
• segja – to say/tell, much more general:
  Læknirinn segir henni að fara í líkamsrækt (tells her to go to the gym), less about advice, more about instruction.

In this sentence ráðleggur clearly expresses that it is advice, not an order.

How does að fara work here? Why do we need að before fara?

Að here is the infinitive marker, like to in English to go.

• fara = the bare infinitive go
• að fara = to go

Many verbs that introduce an action someone should do take an að + infinitive clause:

• ráðleggja einhverjum að fara … – advise someone to go …
• reyna að fara … – try to go …
• lofa að fara … – promise to go …

In this structure you must include að:

• ✗ Læknirinn ráðleggur henni fara í líkamsrækt. (incorrect)
• ✓ Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara í líkamsrækt. (correct)

There are other constructions (with modal-like verbs) where að is omitted, but ráðleggja is not one of them.

What does í líkamsrækt really mean? Is it exactly the same as to the gym?

Literally, líkamsrækt is:

• líkam-s-rækt
  
  • líkami = body
  • genitive líkam-s = of the body
  • rækt = cultivation, training

So líkamsrækt ≈ body-training, physical exercise.

The phrase fara í líkamsrækt is idiomatic and usually means:

• to go (do) physical exercise, typically:
  • going to a gym
  • doing structured workouts

In everyday modern usage, í líkamsrækt is very close to to the gym / to work out, but a bit more general and slightly more formal. It can include classes, general exercise, not just weight machines in a gym.

Colloquial Icelandic also often says fara í ræktina (see below); that one sounds even more like “go to the gym” in a very everyday sense.

Could you explain reglulega? Why not reglulegt or something similar?

Reglulega is an adverb, meaning regularly.

It comes from the adjective reglulegur (regular):

• adjective: reglulegur (m), regluleg (f), reglulegt (n)
• adverb: reglulega

In Icelandic, adding -lega to many adjectives makes the corresponding adverb:

• góður → vel (irregular), but also góðlega
• hrár → hrálega
• reglulegur → reglulega

You need an adverb to modify a verb (fara), not an adjective:

• að fara reglulega í líkamsrækt – to go regularly to the gym

Reglulegt would be neuter singular adjective, which would have to describe a noun, e.g.:

• Reglulegt líkamsræktarprógramm – a regular workout programme

In this sentence we are describing how she goes (regularly), not what kind of thing is regular, so reglulega is correct.

What is því doing here? I thought því meant therefore or for that reason.

Því can serve different roles. Common ones:

1. Conjunction meaning because (as in this sentence)
2. Dative singular neuter of the pronoun það, often translated therefore / for that reason

In your sentence:

• … því vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt.
  = … because the problem is not serious.

Here því functions like a subordinating conjunction because, introducing the reason.

In other contexts, því can be more like therefore:

• Vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt, því fer hún ekki til skurðlæknis.
  = The problem isn’t serious, therefore she doesn’t go to a surgeon.

Context and word order show the difference:

• því + full clause giving the cause usually = because
• full clause + , því + full clause giving the consequence usually = therefore

There is also the longer form af því að = because, but your sentence uses the short því.

Why is there a comma before því in Icelandic? Would there be one in English?

Icelandic punctuation rules differ from English. In Icelandic, commas are used more systematically to separate clauses, especially when a conjunction introduces a new clause.

• Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara í líkamsrækt reglulega, því vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt.

Here the comma marks the boundary between:

1. the main statement (what the doctor advises)
2. the reason clause (why he advises that)

In English you might write:

• The doctor advises her to go to the gym regularly because the problem is not serious. (no comma, very normal)
• The doctor advises her to go to the gym regularly, because the problem is not serious. (possible, a bit more “pausy”)

In Icelandic, putting a comma there is standard written style and feels natural, not optional or stylistic in the same way as in English.

Why is it vandamálið er ekki alvarlegt, with alvarlegt ending in -t?

Vandamálið is a neuter noun, singular, definite:

• base form: vandamál (n.) – problem
• definite nominative: vandamálið – the problem

Predicate adjectives in Icelandic agree in gender, number, and case with the noun they describe. So:

• masculine: vandinn er alvarlegur
• feminine: svörin eru alvarleg (pl.)
• neuter singular: vandamálið er alvarlegt

Thus:

• vandamálið (neuter sg.)
• alvarlegt (neuter sg. form of alvarlegur)

The structure is:

• vandamálið – subject
• er ekki – is not
• alvarlegt – predicate adjective agreeing with the subject

If the noun were masculine or feminine, you would see alvarlegur or alvarleg, not alvarlegt.

Can the word order with reglulega and í líkamsrækt be changed? For example, að fara reglulega í líkamsrækt?

Yes, there is some flexibility.

In your sentence:

• að fara í líkamsrækt reglulega
  – literally: to go to the gym regularly

You can also say:

• að fara reglulega í líkamsrækt

Both are natural. The focus is slightly different (in one, “to the gym” is grouped tightly, in the other, “regularly go” is grouped), but both are fine.

You can also move reglulega earlier in the main clause if you want to change what is “regular”:

• Læknirinn ráðleggur henni reglulega að fara í líkamsrækt.
  = The doctor regularly advises her to go to the gym.
  (It is the advising that is regular.)

In the original, it is the going to the gym that is regular, not the advising, so reglulega is placed inside the að fara … phrase.

What you generally avoid is splitting ráðleggur henni in a strange way:

• ✗ Læknirinn ráðleggur reglulega henni að fara í líkamsrækt. (very unnatural)

What case is líkamsrækt in, and how does í work with cases?

Í can take accusative (motion into / towards) or dative (location, being in).

Examples:

• Ég fer í skólann. (acc.) – I go to school.
• Ég er í skólanum. (dat.) – I am at school.

In að fara í líkamsrækt, there is motion towards an activity/place, so í takes the accusative.

For líkamsrækt (a feminine noun), nominative and accusative singular look the same:

• nom. sg.: líkamsrækt
• acc. sg.: líkamsrækt

So you don’t see a visible ending change, but grammatically it is accusative after fara í.

If you expressed being at the gym, you would see dative in the definite form:

• Hún er í líkamsræktinni.
  – She is at the gym / at her workout (dative definite).

What is the difference between í líkamsrækt and í ræktina?

Both can refer to going to the gym / going to work out, but with slightly different feel:

• fara í líkamsrækt

  • literally: go into physical training
  • a bit more neutral / slightly formal, emphasises the type of activity (physical exercise)

• fara í ræktina

  • rækt = cultivation/training; ræktin (def.), ræktina (acc. def.)
  • very common everyday phrase meaning “go to the gym”

So:

• Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara reglulega í líkamsrækt.
• Læknirinn ráðleggur henni að fara reglulega í ræktina.

Both are understandable and natural; the second sounds a bit more colloquial and explicitly like “the gym” as a place.

How do you pronounce some of these tricky words, like Læknirinn, ráðleggur, and líkamsrækt?

Very rough English-based approximations (not strict IPA):

• Læknirinn

  • roughly: LAI-kni-rin
  • æ like the i in like
  • kn pronounced together, no vowel in between
  • final -inn like -in in button, with a clear n

• ráðleggur

  • roughly: RAUTH-leh-gur
  • á like ow in cow
  • ð like the th in this (voiced)
  • the gg here is a soft g sound, not as in English egg, closer to a voiced ch/gh
  • final -ur is like -ur with a very short u

• líkamsrækt

  • roughly: LEE-kams-rai-kt
  • í like ee in see
  • æ again like i in like
  • final kt is quite sharp; the t is clearly pronounced

• reglulega

  • roughly: REG-lu-le-ga
  • short vowels, and the g is not hard as in English go, more like a softer g/gh.

These are approximations meant to give you a feel; actual Icelandic pronunciation has some additional subtleties (like length and devoicing), but this will get you close enough to be understood.