Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Kennarinn biður okkur að vera ekki svona hávær, svo aðrir geti einbeitt sér. - The teacher asks us not to be so loud so that others can concentrate.

biðja e-n um e-ð = ask someone for something / ask someone to do something
- Kennarinn biður okkur að vera róleg. – The teacher asks us to be quiet.

Spyr (from spyrja) means to ask a question, to inquire:

spyrja e-n um e-ð = ask someone about something
- Kennarinn spyr okkur spurninga. – The teacher asks us questions.

So:

biðja = ask/request an action or a favour
spyrja = ask for information / ask a question

In this sentence the teacher is requesting a change in behaviour, so biður (from biðja) is the correct verb.

Why is it okkur and not við after biður?

Icelandic personal pronouns change form according to case.

Við is the nominative (subject) form of we.
Okkur is the accusative (and dative) form of us.

The verb biðja takes its object in the accusative case:

Kennarinn biður okkur ... – The teacher asks us ...

Here:

Kennarinn – subject (nominative)
biður – verb
okkur – object (accusative), the people being asked

You would only use við as the subject:

Við heyrum kennarann. – We hear the teacher.

Why is there að before vera? What is að vera ekki svona hávær grammatically?

Að here is the infinitive marker, like English to before a verb.

vera = to be
að vera = to be (infinitive phrase)

The structure is:

biðja e-n að + infinitive
= ask someone to
- verb

So:

biður okkur að vera ekki svona hávær
= asks us to not be so loud

Grammatically, að vera ekki svona hávær is an infinitive clause functioning as the content of the request: what the teacher asks us to do (or, here, not to do).

Why is the word order að vera ekki svona hávær and not að ekki vera svona hávær?

In an infinitive clause with að, the normal order is:

að + verb + adverbs/negation + rest

So:

að vera ekki svona hávær
- vera – main verb in the infinitive
- ekki – negation right after the verb
- svona hávær – the rest of the predicate

Að ekki vera svona hávær is not wrong in all contexts, but in standard modern Icelandic, að vera ekki ... is much more natural here.

Also, ekki vera svona hávær! (without að) is an imperative command: Don’t be so loud!
With að vera ekki svona hávær, it’s an infinitive phrase inside a larger sentence of asking.

What does svona mean in svona hávær, and could I leave it out?

Svona literally means something like like this / like that / so and often corresponds to English so in so loud, so big, etc.

svona hávær = so loud / this loud / that loud (in the way you’re being)

You can leave it out:

að vera ekki hávær – to not be loud

But svona adds nuance: it refers to the degree or manner of loudness, often tied to the current situation:

Ekki vera svona hávær.
= Don’t be this/so loud (i.e. the way you’re being right now).

Without svona, it sounds more general and a bit less natural in everyday speech.

Why is it hávær and not hátt? Isn’t hátt the adverb “loudly”?

Yes, hátt is an adverb (loudly), and hávær is an adjective (loud).

In this sentence, the verb is vera (to be), and it describes a state or quality of the people (us), not how they are doing an action:

að vera hávær – to be loud (as a person/group, noisy)

So we need an adjective after vera, agreeing with the implied subject (við / okkur → plural, but adjectives in predicate position often just appear in their basic form in such generic statements).

If it were about doing something loudly, you would use hátt as an adverb:

að tala hátt – to speak loudly
Þeir hlæja hátt. – They laugh loudly.

But:

Þeir eru háværir. – They are loud (noisy people).

In að vera ekki svona hávær, the focus is on us being noisy, so the adjective hávær is correct.

Why does Kennarinn have -inn at the end? How do you say “a teacher” vs “the teacher”?

Icelandic usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun as a suffix.

kennari – a teacher (indefinite)
kennarinn – the teacher (definite)

So:

Kennari biður okkur... – A teacher asks us...
Kennarinn biður okkur... – The teacher asks us...

This -inn is the masculine singular nominative definite ending. Other genders and cases have different definite endings, but the idea is the same: the article is attached to the noun.

In svo aðrir geti einbeitt sér, why is it geti instead of geta?

Geti is the subjunctive form of geta (to be able to / can).

The pattern is:

geta – indicative (normal present):
- Þeir geta einbeitt sér. – They can concentrate.
geti – present subjunctive:
- used in purpose clauses, hypotheticals, etc.

The phrase svo (að) meaning so that / in order that often triggers the subjunctive because it expresses a purpose or desired outcome, not a simple fact:

Kennarinn biður okkur ... svo aðrir geti einbeitt sér.
= The teacher asks us ... so that others can / will be able to concentrate.

If you used geta (indicative), it would sound less natural and might lean more toward stating a plain fact rather than a purpose. Native usage strongly prefers geti here.

What exactly does aðrir mean, and how is it formed?

Aðrir means others.

It’s a form of the adjective/pronoun annar (other, another). Annar is irregular and has many forms.

Relevant ones here:

annar – masculine singular nominative: other, another (one)
aðrir – masculine plural nominative: (the) others

In the sentence:

aðrir is the subject of geti (others can)
- implied full phrase: aðrir nemendur – other students

So svo aðrir geti einbeitt sér literally: so that others can concentrate (themselves).

What does einbeita sér mean, and why do we need sér?

Einbeita sér is a reflexive verb phrase meaning to concentrate / to focus (oneself).

að einbeita sér – to concentrate
Literally: to concentrate oneself

The word sér is the reflexive pronoun in dative case, referring back to the subject:

Ég einbeiti mér. – I concentrate (myself).
Þú einbeitir þér. – You concentrate.
Hann einbeitir sér. – He concentrates.
Þeir einbeita sér. – They concentrate.

In the sentence:

aðrir geti einbeitt sér – others can concentrate (themselves)

So sér is required because einbeita is used reflexively; you don’t say einbeita alone.

I thought einbeita sér usually takes að plus something (like “to focus on something”). Why is nothing after it here?

You’re right: often einbeita sér is followed by að + dative to specify what you focus on:

einbeita sér að náminu – concentrate on the studies
einbeita sér að verkefninu – concentrate on the assignment

In this sentence, that object of focus is simply left out because it’s obvious from context (probably schoolwork, exams, etc.).

So:

svo aðrir geti einbeitt sér (að náminu)
– so that others can concentrate (on their work)

This kind of omission is common in natural Icelandic when the missing part is understood.

What is the function of the comma before svo in this sentence?

The comma separates two clauses:

Kennarinn biður okkur að vera ekki svona hávær
svo aðrir geti einbeitt sér

The second clause with svo expresses purpose or result: so that others can concentrate.

In Icelandic writing, it is normal to put a comma before svo (að) when it introduces a separate clause like this. It’s similar to English:

The teacher asks us not to be so loud, so (that) others can concentrate.

Could we say Kennarinn segir okkur að vera ekki svona hávær instead of biður okkur? What’s the difference?

You can say that, but the nuance changes:

biðja e-n að gera e-ð
– ask someone to do something (a request, usually more polite)
segja e-m að gera e-ð
– tell someone to do something (more directive, closer to an instruction or order)

So:

Kennarinn biður okkur að vera ekki svona hávær
– The teacher asks us not to be so loud (polite request).
Kennarinn segir okkur að vera ekki svona hávær
– The teacher tells us not to be so loud (more like giving an instruction).

Both are grammatically fine; choice depends on how strong or polite you want the teacher’s tone to sound.

How would you say “The teacher asked us not to be so loud, so others could concentrate” in the past tense?

You need to change both verbs and keep the subjunctive in the second clause:

Kennarinn bað okkur að vera ekki svona hávær, svo aðrir gætu einbeitt sér.

Breakdown:

bað – past tense of biður (from biðja)
væri can be used in some variants (e.g. að vera ekki svona hávær remains infinitive, so no change)
gætu – past subjunctive of geta (matching the past time frame)

So:

Present: ... biður ... svo aðrir geti ... – asks ... so others can ...
Past: ... bað ... svo aðrir gætu ... – asked ... so others could ...

This keeps the same structure but shifts everything into a past situation.