Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund.

I concentrate in class.

Breakdown of Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund.

• ég: I
• í: in
• kennslustund: the class
• mér: me
• einbeita sér: to concentrate

Questions & Answers about Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund.

Why do we say mér instead of mig in this sentence?

Mér is the dative form of ég (I), while mig is the accusative form.

The verb að einbeita sér (to concentrate, to focus) always takes its object in the dative case. So with ég as the subject, you must use the dative pronoun:

• Nominative: ég (I) – subject
• Accusative: mig (me) – direct object
• Dative: mér (to me / for me) – what einbeita sér requires
• Genitive: mín (of me)

Because einbeita sér governs the dative, ég einbeiti mér is correct, but ég einbeiti mig is wrong.

Why do we need mér at all? Why can’t I just say Ég einbeiti?

In Icelandic, einbeita is normally used as a reflexive verb: að einbeita sér – literally “to concentrate oneself”.

That pattern means a pronoun is required:

• Ég einbeiti mér. – I concentrate (myself).
• Þú einbeitir þér. – You concentrate (yourself).
• Hann einbeitir sér. – He concentrates (himself).

Leaving out the pronoun (Ég einbeiti) sounds incomplete or wrong to native speakers. The reflexive pronoun is part of the normal structure of the verb.

If the dictionary form is að einbeita sér, why doesn’t the sentence use sér? Why mér?

In dictionary entries, sér is a generic reflexive pronoun, used to show that the verb is reflexive and refers back to its subject.

In real sentences, the pronoun must agree with the person of the subject:

• 1st person singular: ég einbeiti mér
• 2nd person singular: þú einbeitir þér
• 3rd person singular: hann / hún / það einbeitir sér
• 1st person plural: við einbeitum okkur
• 2nd person plural: þið einbeitið ykkur
• 3rd person plural: þeir / þær / þau einbeita sér

So sér only actually appears with 3rd person subjects. For ég, the corresponding dative form is mér.

Exactly what case is mér, and which case does einbeita sér take?

Mér is dative singular.

The verb að einbeita sér always takes its reflexive pronoun in the dative case. That’s a lexical property of the verb:

• að einbeita sér (þgf.) – “to concentrate (on)”
  (þgf. = þágufall = dative case)

Examples with different persons:

• Ég einbeiti mér. – I concentrate.
• Þú einbeitir þér. – You concentrate.
• Hann einbeitir sér. – He concentrates.
• Við einbeitum okkur. – We concentrate.

All of those pronouns are dative forms.

What exactly does í kennslustund express here – is it “in class” or “on the lesson”?

Í kennslustund describes where you are concentrating: you are concentrating during a lesson / in class.

• í = in
• kennslustund = a class period / lesson

So the sentence says: I concentrate (myself) in class / during the lesson.

If you wanted to say what you are focusing on, you’d usually use að instead:

• Ég einbeiti mér að verkefninu. – I concentrate on the assignment.
• Ég einbeiti mér að kennslunni. – I concentrate on the teaching / on the lesson content.

So:

• í kennslustund = in the situation / setting of a class
• að e-u = on a particular thing you’re focusing on

Why is it í kennslustund and not something like á kennslustund?

Both í and á can translate as in / at, but they are used differently.

With kennslustund (class, lesson), Icelanders normally use í to mean “in (during) a class”:

• Ég er í kennslustund. – I am in class.
• Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund. – I focus in class.

Á kennslustund could be understood, but it is not the natural, standard choice here. Á is more common with certain events or activities (e.g. á tónleikum – at a concert, á fundi – at a meeting), while í kennslustund is the idiomatic phrase for “in a class / lesson”.

Why doesn’t it say í kennslustundinni (“in the class”)? When would I use the definite form?

Kennslustund (without the -inni ending) is indefinite: “a class / class (in general)”.

You’d choose:

• Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund.
  → I concentrate in class (as a general habit, not referring to one specific, already-known lesson).

• Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustundinni.
  → I concentrate in the class / in this particular lesson we’re talking about.

So:

• Use kennslustund when you mean “in class” in a general sense.
• Use kennslustundinni when a specific, known class period is meant (for example, in the math class right now).

What does kennslustund literally mean, and how is it formed?

Kennslustund is a compound noun:

• kennsla – teaching, instruction
• stund – hour, period of time

Put together:

• kennslustund ≈ “teaching-hour” → a lesson, class period.

Grammatically, kennslustund is:

• Gender: feminine
• Nominative singular: kennslustund
• With definite article: kennslustundin (nom.), kennslustundinni (dat.)

In the sentence, í kennslustund is dative singular (after í, expressing location), but here the form happens to look the same as nominative/accusative.

Does í take dative or accusative here, and why?

The preposition í can take either dative or accusative, depending on meaning:

• Dative = location, state: in, inside
• Accusative = movement into: into, to

Examples:

• Ég er í skólanum. – I am in the school. (dative)
• Ég fer í skólann. – I go to the school. (accusative)

In Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund, you are in class already; it’s a location / situation, not movement. So í takes the dative.

With kennslustund, the nominative, accusative and dative singular look the same (kennslustund), but the underlying case here is dative.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move í kennslustund to another position?

The basic neutral order is:

• Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund.
  Subject – verb – reflexive pronoun – adverbial

You can move í kennslustund for emphasis or style:

• Í kennslustund einbeiti ég mér.
  → In class I concentrate (as opposed to elsewhere).

What you cannot do is break up the verb and pronoun in an un-Icelandic way, like:

• ✗ Ég í kennslustund einbeiti mér. (very odd)
• ✗ Ég mér einbeiti í kennslustund. (wrong)

So the verb and its reflexive pronoun stay tightly connected, and the time/place phrase can be moved as a block.

What tense is einbeiti, and does it mean “I concentrate” or “I am concentrating”?

Einbeiti here is present tense, 1st person singular of að einbeita sér.

Icelandic present tense covers both of these English meanings:

• Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund.
  → I concentrate in class.
  → I am concentrating in class.

There is no separate continuous form (am concentrating) in Icelandic; context tells you whether it’s a general habit or something happening right now.

How would I say this in the past or future?

The verb að einbeita sér is a weak verb. Some key forms:

• Infinitive: að einbeita sér
• Present 1st sg: ég einbeiti mér
• Past 1st sg: ég einbeitti mér
• Past participle (m. nom. sg.): einbeittur

Examples:

• Past (I concentrated):
  Ég einbeitti mér í kennslustund.

• Future (I will concentrate):
  Ég mun einbeita mér í kennslustund.
  (literally “I will concentrate myself in class”)

• Perfect (I have concentrated):
  Ég hef einbeitt mér í kennslustund.

Could I drop Ég and just say Einbeiti mér í kennslustund?

Normally, no. Icelandic is not a “pro-drop” language like Spanish or Italian; subject pronouns are usually expressed.

• Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund. – natural
• ✗ Einbeiti mér í kennslustund. – sounds incomplete (unless it’s some very marked, truncated style)

In everyday speech and writing, you should keep Ég here.

How do you pronounce Ég einbeiti mér í kennslustund?

One fairly standard pronunciation (IPA):

• Ég – /jɛːɡ/ (often the /ɡ/ is very weak or almost absent in fast speech)
• einbeiti – /ˈeimˌpeitɪ/
• mér – /mjɛːr/
• í – /iː/
• kennslustund – /ˈcʰɛn̥stlʏˌstʏnt/

Main stresses:

• EIN-beiti
• KENN-slustund

So the whole sentence roughly:

• /jɛːɡ ˈeimˌpeitɪ mjɛːr iː ˈcʰɛn̥stlʏˌstʏnt/