Ég þori ekki að syngja fyrir framan alla.

Þori is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb þora, which means to dare.

So:

• þora = to dare
• ég þori = I dare

This is why the sentence starts with Ég þori... rather than Ég þora...

In a normal Icelandic main clause, ekki usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• Ég þori ekki ... = I do not dare ...

That word order is very standard in Icelandic. English learners often want to place ekki directly before the main action verb, but in Icelandic it normally follows the conjugated verb instead.

Here að is the infinitive marker, corresponding to English to.

So:

• að syngja = to sing

After þora, Icelandic normally uses að + infinitive:

• þora að syngja = dare to sing

English dare can behave a bit like a modal verb, so English often allows I don't dare sing.

Icelandic þora does not usually behave that way. It normally takes að + infinitive:

• Ég þori ekki að syngja

So even if English leaves out to, Icelandic still keeps að.

Yes. Syngja is the infinitive form of the verb to sing.

In this sentence, it is not conjugated because þori is already the finite verb. Icelandic often works like this with two verbs:

• one conjugated verb: þori
• one infinitive: að syngja

Fyrir framan is a fixed expression meaning in front of.

In this sentence:

• fyrir framan alla = in front of everyone

It is best to learn fyrir framan as a whole phrase, rather than trying to translate each word separately.

Because alla is the accusative plural form, and that is the form used after fyrir framan here.

The word allur changes form depending on case and gender. A few relevant forms are:

• allir = nominative masculine plural
• alla = accusative masculine plural

Since the phrase requires the accusative here, alla is the correct form.

Icelandic often uses the masculine plural as a general or mixed-gender form when referring to people in a broad way.

So alla here does not mean only men. It can mean everyone in a general sense.

If you were specifically talking about an all-female group, you could use a feminine form instead, but in a general sentence like this, alla is normal.

Normally, no. In ordinary Icelandic sentences, you usually keep the subject pronoun.

So the natural full sentence is:

• Ég þori ekki að syngja fyrir framan alla.

Icelandic is not like some languages where subject pronouns are regularly dropped.

No. This sentence stays the same for both.

Nothing in Ég þori ekki að syngja fyrir framan alla has to agree with the speaker's gender, so a man or a woman would say it the same way.

Þ is pronounced like the th in think.

So in þori, the first sound is the same kind of th sound as in thin, not the sound in this.

This is a very important Icelandic letter to learn, because English speakers often confuse it with other sounds.