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Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.

Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.
We talk about exercise in the diary.

Breakdown of Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.

við
we
í
in
um
about
tala
to talk
dagbókin
the diary
hreyfing
the exercise
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Questions & Answers about Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.

Why is it tölum and not tala or talar?

The verb að tala (to speak, to talk) is conjugated according to the subject.

  • við = we (1st person plural)
  • Present tense of tala:
    • ég tala – I speak
    • þú talar – you (sg.) speak
    • hann/hún/það talar – he/she/it speaks
    • við tölum – we speak
    • þið talið – you (pl.) speak
    • þeir/þær/þau tala – they speak

So with við, you must use the 1st person plural: tölum.
tala (without ending change) is used for they (þeir/þær/þau tala), and talar is for you (sg.) / he / she / it.

What tense is tölum? How would I say “we spoke”?

tölum is present tense: we speak / we talk.

The verb tala in the simple past (preterite) is:

  • ég talaði – I spoke
  • þú talaðir – you (sg.) spoke
  • hann/hún/það talaði – he/she/it spoke
  • við töluðum – we spoke
  • þið töluðuð – you (pl.) spoke
  • þeir/þær/þau töluðu – they spoke

So:

  • Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni. – We talk about exercise in the diary.
  • Við töluðum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni. – We talked about exercise in the diary.
What does um mean here, and what case does it take?

In this sentence, um means about (as in “talk about something”).

As a preposition, um normally takes the accusative case in this meaning.
That’s why hreyfing appears as hreyfingu (accusative singular), not hreyfing (nominative).

So:

  • um + hreyfingu = about exercise / about movement
  • The -u ending signals that hreyfingu is in the accusative singular.
Why is it hreyfingu and not just hreyfing?

The base noun is hreyfing (feminine), meaning movement or exercise (physical activity).

Icelandic declines nouns for case. Here’s the singular of hreyfing:

  • Nominative: hreyfing (subject form)
  • Accusative: hreyfingu
  • Dative: hreyfingu
  • Genitive: hreyfingar

Because the preposition um requires the accusative, we must use hreyfingu, not hreyfing.

If hreyfing were the subject, you’d use nominative:

  • Hreyfing er mikilvæg. – Exercise is important.
Does hreyfing mean “movement” or “exercise”? Which is correct here?

hreyfing can mean both:

  1. movement (in a physical or abstract sense)
  2. (physical) exercise / activity

Which English word you choose depends on context and what the diary is about:

  • If it’s a fitness diary: We talk about exercise in the diary.
  • If it’s more general, maybe describing motion: We talk about movement in the diary.

In everyday speech, hreyfing is very often used to mean physical exercise (“getting some movement” into your day).

What is dagbókinni exactly? Why that ending -inni?

The base noun is dagbók:

  • dagur = day
  • bók = book
  • dagbók = diary / journal (literally day-book)

Its singular forms (with the definite article attached) are:

  • Nominative: dagbókin – the diary (as subject)
  • Accusative: dagbókina – the diary (as object, motion into)
  • Dative: dagbókinni – the diary (location in)
  • Genitive: dagbókarinnar – of the diary

In í dagbókinni, we have:

  • í = in
  • dagbókinni = the diary, in dative singular with the definite article attached.

So í dagbókinni means in the diary (location inside it).
The -inni is the combination of dative ending + definite article for this feminine noun.

Why is it í dagbókinni and not í dagbókina?

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

  • í + accusative = movement into something (change of location)
  • í + dative = being in something (location, no movement)

Compare:

  • Ég set þetta í dagbókina. – I put this into the diary. (motion → accusative)
  • Þetta er í dagbókinni. – This is in the diary. (location → dative)

In Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni, the idea is that the talking (or writing) is located in the diary (the content of the diary), not that something is being moved into it. So dative (í dagbókinni) is correct.

Could I say í dagbók instead of í dagbókinni? Where is the word “the”?

Icelandic does not have a separate word for “the”. Instead, it attaches a definite ending to the noun:

  • dagbók – diary (a diary / diaries in general)
  • dagbókin – the diary (nominative)
  • dagbókinni – in the diary

So:

  • í dagbók would mean in a diary / in diaries (in general), quite generic.
  • í dagbókinni means specifically in the diary.

In your sentence, you’re talking about a particular diary (maybe the one you keep), so í dagbókinni with the definite ending is natural.

Is the word order Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni fixed, or can I move things around?

The given word order is the most natural and common:

  • Við (subject)
  • tölum (verb)
  • um hreyfingu (first prepositional phrase: about what)
  • í dagbókinni (second prepositional phrase: where)

You can move the two prepositional phrases somewhat, but it changes emphasis or sounds less neutral:

  • Við tölum í dagbókinni um hreyfingu. – Grammatically possible, but now it feels a bit more like you’re emphasizing where you talk (in the diary) before saying what it’s about.
  • Um hreyfingu tölum við í dagbókinni. – Very marked, like “About exercise, we talk in the diary.”

For a learner, stick with: Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.

Could I use another verb instead of tölum for “talk about”, like a more formal word?

Yes. tala um is the most general and common, but you have options:

  • tala um – to talk about (neutral, everyday)

    • Við tölum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.

  • ræðum (from að ræða) – to discuss (more formal / analytical)

    • Við ræðum hreyfingu í dagbókinni. – We discuss exercise in the diary.

Note: with ræða, you normally don’t need um:

  • að ræða eitthvað – to discuss something (no um)

With tala, you practically always use um for this meaning:

  • að tala um eitthvað – to talk about something
How would I say “We write about exercise in the diary” instead of “We talk about exercise in the diary”?

Replace the verb tala with skrifa (to write):

  • Við skrifum um hreyfingu í dagbókinni.

Breakdown:

  • Við – we
  • skrifum – write (1st person plural present)
  • um hreyfingu – about exercise
  • í dagbókinni – in the diary

The preposition um and the cases (hreyfingu, dagbókinni) stay the same.

How do I pronounce the words in this sentence?

Approximate guide using English-like sounds:

  • Við – [vɪð]

    • v as in very
    • ið like ith in with, but the ð is soft, often like a voiced th or even very light, almost just vith

  • tölum – [ˈtʰœːlʏm]

    • t is aspirated like English t at the start of top
    • ö is like the vowel in British bird or the German ö in schön
    • u here is short, like the u in French tu or somewhere between English oo and i

  • um – [ʏm]

    • Short, high, rounded vowel; no exact English equivalent, somewhere between im and um

  • hreyfingu – [ˈr̥eiːvɪŋkʏ] (approx.)

    • hr: the h is audible; r is rolled or tapped; hr is a breathy hr sound
    • ey is like English ay in day
    • -ingu ends with a -ingu sound, g often softened before u

  • í – [iː]

    • Like ee in see, but long

  • dagbókinni – [ˈdaɣˌpoukɪnɪ] (approx.)

    • dag: d as in day, a like a in father, g often a soft /ɣ/, like a voiced rough gh
    • bók: b as in boy, ó like o in go (long), k slightly aspirated
    • inni: both i vowels like ee in see, but short

You don’t need to perfect every sound at once; focus first on the rhythm and stress:

  • Við TÖlum um HREYfingu í DAGbókinni. (main stresses on TÖ-, HREY-, DAG-)