Mér finnst ókurteist að tala hátt í símanum á fundi.

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Breakdown of Mér finnst ókurteist að tala hátt í símanum á fundi.

• á: in
• síminn: the phone
• fundurinn: the meeting

Questions & Answers about Mér finnst ókurteist að tala hátt í símanum á fundi.

Why does the sentence start with Mér finnst instead of something like Ég finnst?

Because finnast in this meaning does not take a normal nominative subject like English I.

• mér is the dative form of ég.
• finnst is the 3rd person singular present of finnast.

So Mér finnst ... literally means something like To me, it seems / feels / is found, but in natural English it usually means I think, I find, or It seems to me.

This is a very common Icelandic pattern:

• Mér finnst þetta gott. = I think this is good.
• Henni finnst gaman hér. = She likes it here / She finds it fun here.

So the dative mér is completely normal here.

What exactly does finnst mean in this sentence?

Here finnst means seems, feels, or is considered by me.

In practice, Mér finnst ókurteist ... is a very common way to say:

• I think it is rude ...
• I find it rude ...

So it is not about physically finding something. It expresses a personal judgment or opinion.

Why is the adjective ókurteist in the neuter form?