Breakdown of Hún fer á hárgreiðslustofuna og lætur hárgreiðslumanninn lita hárið.
og
and
hún
she
fara
to go
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
láta
to let
hárið
the hair
hárgreiðslumaðurinn
the hairdresser
hárgreiðslustofan
the hair salon
lita
to dye
Questions & Answers about Hún fer á hárgreiðslustofuna og lætur hárgreiðslumanninn lita hárið.
Why is hárgreiðslumanninn in the accusative case here?
It is the object of the verb lætur. In the causative construction (láta + object + infinitive), the person who is asked, let, or made to do the action is always in the accusative case.
Does lætur mean she lets or makes the hairdresser dye her hair?
In this context, it is best translated as "has" (as in "she has the hairdresser dye her hair"). While láta can mean to physically force (make) or give permission (let), it is very commonly used for services you arrange for someone else to do for you.
Why is it á hárgreiðslustofuna (accusative) instead of á hárgreiðslustofunni (dative)?
The verb fer (goes) indicates motion toward a destination. The preposition á takes the accusative case for movement towards a place, but the dative case if you are already located there.
Why does the sentence say hárið (the hair) instead of using a word for "her"?
In Icelandic, when referring to body parts, it is standard to just append the definite article (hárið means the hair) rather than using a possessive pronoun like "her" if the context makes it perfectly clear whose hair is being dyed.
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