Breakdown of Það er skylda þín að þekkja þessa handbók vel.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
vel
well
að
to (infinitive marker)
þekkja
to know
þinn
your (m, f, n: þinn, þín, þitt)
þessi
this (m/f)
handbókin
the manual
skyldan
the duty
Questions & Answers about Það er skylda þín að þekkja þessa handbók vel.
This lesson is about using "skulu" for formal commands. Why doesn't this sentence use it?
This sentence states a fact about an obligation using the noun skylda (a duty) rather than issuing a direct command with an auxiliary verb. You could rewrite it using the lesson's target grammar as Þú skalt þekkja þessa handbók vel (You shall know this manual well).
Why do we use þekkja here instead of vita or kunna for "to know"?
Þekkja means to be familiar with a person or a thing (like a book, an interface, or an area). Vita is used for knowing factual information, and kunna is for skills or knowing something by heart. Because you need to be familiar with the contents of the manual, þekkja fits perfectly.
Could I write þín skylda instead of skylda þín?
Yes, but it changes the nuance. Possessive pronouns normally follow the noun in Icelandic (skylda þín). Putting the possessive first (þín skylda) adds strong emphasis, meaning it is your duty specifically, perhaps as opposed to someone else's.
Why is the word for "this" written as þessa instead of þessi?
The verb þekkja requires its object to be in the accusative case. The word for manual, handbók, is a feminine noun, so the feminine demonstrative pronoun þessi (this) must change to its accusative form, þessa.
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