Questions & Answers about Les bókina hægt!
How do we get the command form les from the verb to read?
For most verbs, the singular command form (imperative) is made by taking the dictionary form (the infinitive) and dropping the final -a. The verb to read is lesa, so taking off the -a leaves us with the command les!
I often see commands ending in -tu or -ðu. Could I say lestu here?
Yes, absolutely! In spoken Icelandic, it is very common to attach the word for you (þú) to the end of the command. When you combine les and þú, it blends into lestu. Both les and lestu mean read!, but lestu sounds a bit more natural in everyday speech.
Why is the ending -ina added to bók?
In Icelandic, the word for the is attached to the end of the noun. Here, bók (book) becomes bókina (the book). The ending is -ina because bók is a feminine noun, and it is in the accusative case since it is the direct object (the thing being read).
How does hægt translate to slowly?
To say how something is done (an adverb), Icelandic often uses the neuter form of an adjective. The standard dictionary adjective for slow is hægur, and its neuter form is hægt. We use hægt here to describe the verb, meaning slowly.
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