Breakdown of Lesið textann á síðunni!
lesa
to read
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
textinn
the text
síðan
the page
Questions & Answers about Lesið textann á síðunni!
How does lesið show that this is a plural command?
In Icelandic, telling multiple people to do something (the plural imperative) usually involves adding an -ið ending to the verb stem. The dictionary form is lesa (to read), so you remove the -a and add -ið to get lesið.
Where is the word for 'you' in this sentence?
Just like in English, command sentences usually drop the subject pronoun. You don't need to say þið (you, plural) because the -ið ending on lesið already makes it perfectly clear who you are talking to.
What if I only want to tell one person to read?
You would use the singular command form instead. For this verb, it is lestu (which is the stem les merged with the pronoun þú). The sentence would be Lestu textann á síðunni!
Why does the word for text have -nn at the end?
The base word is texti. Because it is the direct object receiving the action of being read, it changes to the accusative case. The -nn is the attached definite article, making textann mean 'the text' instead of 'a text'.
Why is the word for page spelled síðunni here?
The preposition á means 'on' and triggers the dative case when talking about a fixed location. The base word síða is a feminine noun, and its dative form with the attached 'the' becomes síðunni.
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