Það þarf að setja talhólfið rétt upp, annars nær símsvarinn ekki að taka við skilaboðunum.

Það þarf að is a very common impersonal Icelandic pattern meaning it is necessary to or one needs to.

Here, það does not literally mean it in the normal sense. It is a kind of dummy subject, much like English it in it is important to...

So:

• Það þarf að setja talhólfið rétt upp = It is necessary to set up the voicemail correctly
• more naturally in English: You need to set up the voicemail correctly

The verb þarf is from að þurfa = to need / have to. In this sentence it is used impersonally, not tied to a specific person like ég þarf or þú þarft.

Að setja upp is a verb phrase meaning to set up, install, or configure.

In Icelandic, some verbs work a bit like English phrasal verbs. The particle upp can be separated from the main verb in the sentence:

• að setja upp = to set up
• setja talhólfið upp = set up the voicemail

Here it appears as:

• að setja talhólfið rétt upp

The word upp stays near the end of the infinitive phrase, after the object and adverb. That is normal.

Rétt means correctly or properly here.

In Icelandic, adverbs often come before a particle like upp in a verb phrase, so:

• setja talhólfið rétt upp = set up the voicemail correctly

That word order is natural. Compare the rough structure:

• setja = set
• talhólfið = the voicemail box
• rétt = correctly
• upp = up

So Icelandic keeps the adverb rétt before the final particle upp.

Talhólf is a neuter noun meaning voicemail or voice mailbox.

In this sentence, talhólfið is:

• singular
• definite
• neuter

So talhólfið means the voicemail or the voicemail box.

The ending -ið is the definite article for a neuter noun in the nominative/accusative singular.

It is the direct object of setja upp, so the sentence is talking about setting up the voicemail system/mailbox correctly.

They are related, but not exactly the same.

• talhólf = voicemail, voice mailbox
• símsvari = answering machine or answering system

In this sentence:

• talhólfið is the thing being set up
• símsvarinn is the system/device/service that receives messages

In practice, the distinction may blur depending on context, especially with modern phone systems, but the sentence treats them as slightly different concepts.

Annars means otherwise.

It introduces the consequence of not doing the first thing properly:

• Það þarf að setja talhólfið rétt upp = the voicemail needs to be set up correctly
• annars nær símsvarinn ekki að taka við skilaboðunum = otherwise the answering system will not manage to receive the messages

So annars connects the two parts just like English otherwise.

This is because Icelandic is a verb-second language in main clauses.

When a word like annars comes first, the finite verb usually comes next:

• Annars nær símsvarinn ekki...

Structure:

• annars = otherwise
• nær = manages / can
• símsvarinn = the answering machine

So the verb nær moves into second position. This is very typical Icelandic word order.

If the sentence started with the subject instead, you would get:

• Símsvarinn nær ekki...

But once annars is placed first, inversion happens.

Here nær að comes from the verb að ná.

Although að ná often means to reach, it can also mean to manage to, be able to, or succeed in when followed by að + infinitive.

So:

• nær að taka við = manages to receive
• more naturally: is able to receive

In the sentence:

• símsvarinn nær ekki að taka við skilaboðunum
• the answering system cannot manage to receive the messages
• natural English: the answering system won’t be able to receive the messages

Ekki is the normal Icelandic word for not.

It usually comes after the finite verb and after the subject if the verb has moved forward because of verb-second word order.

So:

• annars nær símsvarinn ekki að taka við skilaboðunum

breaks down as:

• annars = otherwise
• nær = manages / can
• símsvarinn = the answering system
• ekki = not
• að taka við skilaboðunum = to receive the messages

This placement of ekki is normal in Icelandic main clauses.

Að taka við is a fixed verb expression meaning to receive, accept, or take in.

Literally, it looks like take with/by, but you should learn it as a unit:

• taka við = receive

In the sentence, it appears as:

• að taka við skilaboðunum

The object comes after the whole expression, but the important thing to remember is that taka við is the verb phrase.

This expression also governs the dative case, which explains skilaboðunum.

Because að taka við takes the dative case.

The base noun is:

• skilaboð = message(s)

This noun is a neuter plural-only noun in normal usage. In this sentence, it is:

• plural
• definite
• dative

So:

• skilaboðunum = the messages

You get this form because:

• taka við einhverju = receive something
• and einhverju is dative
• therefore skilaboðunum must also be dative

So the ending is not random; it is required by the verb phrase taka við.

Yes.

In:

• annars nær símsvarinn ekki að taka við skilaboðunum

the subject is símsvarinn = the answering machine/system.

The finite verb is nær.

Because annars comes first, the verb comes second and the subject comes after it:

• annars
  • nær
    • símsvarinn

So even though símsvarinn is not at the very beginning, it is still the subject.

A fairly literal translation would be:

• It is necessary to set up the voicemail correctly, otherwise the answering system does not manage to receive the messages.

That is understandable, but not very natural English.

A more natural translation would be:

• You need to set up the voicemail correctly, otherwise the answering system won’t be able to receive messages.

So the Icelandic structure is a little different from idiomatic English, especially with:

• Það þarf að...
• nær ekki að...
• taka við...