Breakdown of Krossleggjum fæturna og höllum okkur fram!
og
and
fóturinn
the foot / the leg
fram
forward, out (into the front room)
halla sér
to lean
krossleggja
to cross (arms, legs)
Questions & Answers about Krossleggjum fæturna og höllum okkur fram!
How do "Krossleggjum" and "höllum" translate to "Let's..." without any extra words?
In Icelandic, you form a "Let's..." command (a hortative) simply by using the first-person plural form of the verb (ending in -um) and dropping the subject pronoun við (we). Starting the sentence with Krossleggjum makes it "Let's cross" rather than "We cross".
Why does the sentence use "fæturna" (the legs) instead of a possessive like "fæturna okkar" (our legs)?
When referring to body parts or personal items, Icelandic relies heavily on the definite article alone, as long as it's obvious whose body part it is. Adding okkar (our) here isn't grammatically wrong, but it would sound unnecessarily emphatic to a native speaker.
Why do we need "okkur" after "höllum"?
The verb halla (to lean) takes an object. When you are leaning your own body, you use it as a reflexive verb, meaning the object must match the subject. Since the implied subject is "we", the reflexive pronoun is the first-person plural okkur (literally, "let's lean ourselves").
Why use the adverb "fram" (forward) instead of "frammi"?
Because leaning is an action involving movement, you must use the directional form of the adverb, fram (forward). Frammi is the stationary form, used when something is already resting out in front or out in the main room.
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