Kennarinn biður okkur að hafa blýant á borðinu, því prófið byrjar bráðum.

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun.

• kennari = teacher
• kennarinn = the teacher

Here, Kennarinn is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative singular.

Biðja is the dictionary form, meaning to ask or to request.

In the sentence, you need the present tense, third person singular, because the subject is Kennarinn = the teacher.

So:

• biðja = to ask
• biður = asks

This verb is somewhat irregular, so the stem changes. A learner often has to memorize this form.

Because okkur means us, while við means we.

• við = we, used as a subject
• okkur = us, used as an object

In this sentence, the teacher is asking us, so Icelandic uses the object form okkur.

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic:

biðja einhvern að + infinitive

It means to ask someone to do something.

So here:

• biður okkur = asks us
• að hafa = to have

Together, Kennarinn biður okkur að hafa... means The teacher asks us to have...

Here að marks the infinitive, similar to English to in to have.

So:

• hafa = have
• að hafa = to have

After biðja einhvern að..., Icelandic normally uses að before the infinitive.

Because blýant is the accusative singular form of blýantur.

• blýantur = pencil, nominative singular
• blýant = pencil, accusative singular

Since blýant is the direct object of hafa, it appears in the accusative.

This is a very common thing in Icelandic: nouns often change form depending on their role in the sentence.

Because Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like English a or an.

So blýant can mean:

• a pencil
• sometimes just pencil, depending on context

Icelandic does have a definite article, but it is usually attached to the noun, as in kennarinn and prófið.

Because á can take different cases depending on the meaning.

• á + accusative often means movement onto something
• á + dative often means location on something

Here the pencil is already on the desk/table, so this is location, not movement. That is why Icelandic uses the dative:

• borðinu = the table/the desk in the dative singular

So:

• á borðinu = on the desk / on the table

It comes from the noun borð, which is a neuter noun.

• borð = table / desk
• borðið = the table / the desk
• borðinu = on the table / on the desk, with dative because of á in a location sense

The ending -inu is a typical neuter singular dative definite ending.

Here því means because.

It introduces the reason:

• því prófið byrjar bráðum = because the test starts soon

This is a conjunction here, not a pronoun. Icelandic learners often notice that því can mean different things in different contexts, so it is important to learn it by function.

Because prófið means the test or the exam.

The base noun is:

• próf = test, exam

With the definite article added:

• prófið = the test / the exam

Since prófið is the subject of byrjar, it is in the nominative singular. For this neuter noun, nominative and accusative singular look the same.

Byrjar is the present tense, third person singular, of byrja = to begin / to start.

So:

• byrja = to begin
• byrjar = begins / starts

Because the subject is prófið = the test, singular, the verb is singular too.

This is normal in both Icelandic and English.

A present tense verb can be used for something that is about to happen soon:

• prófið byrjar bráðum = the test starts soon / the test is starting soon

The adverb bráðum makes the time reference clear.

Bráðum means soon, shortly, or before long.

It is an adverb, so it does not agree with a noun or change for person. It simply tells you when the action happens:

• prófið byrjar bráðum = the test starts soon

It can mean both, depending on context.

In a classroom sentence like this, á borðinu will often be understood as on the desk. In other situations it may mean on the table.

That is very common in Icelandic vocabulary: one word can cover a range that English divides into two separate words.