Breakdown of Hver kann að tefla?
hver
who / what / which (one)
að
to (infinitive marker)
kunna
to know how to
tefla
to play chess
Questions & Answers about Hver kann að tefla?
Why do we use kann here instead of getur to say "can"?
The verb kunna (here in the form kann) specifically means to know how to do something because you learned it as a skill. We use geta (can, to be able to) for physical ability or possibility. Since playing chess is a learned skill, we use kunna.
Why do we need the word að before tefla?
Unlike the English word "can" which goes straight into the next verb ("can play"), the Icelandic verb kunna requires the marker að (to) before the following infinitive verb. You can think of it as "knows how to".
Why is the verb kann in the singular form? What if we are asking a group of people?
The question word hver (who) always takes a third-person singular verb in Icelandic, regardless of how many people you are asking. This is exactly like English, where we say "who knows" instead of "who know".
Is tefla the general word for playing board games?
No, tefla is a special verb that specifically means "to play chess". Icelandic has a dedicated word just for this game! For card games or most other board games, you would use the verb spila.