Mundu að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim.

Remember to call me when you come home.

Breakdown of Mundu að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim.

• þú: you
• mig: me
• þegar: when
• heim: home
• koma: to come
• hringja í: to call
• muna: to remember

Questions & Answers about Mundu að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim.

What does Mundu mean exactly, and what form is it?

Mundu is the 2nd person singular imperative of muna (to remember). It’s a direct instruction: “Remember!” If you’re speaking to more than one person, use the plural imperative Munið: Munið að hringja í mig ...

Why is there að before hringja?

In this pattern you use muna + að + infinitive: mundu að hringja = “remember to call.” You will hear some speakers drop að in casual speech, but including að is the standard (especially in writing).

Why is it hringja í mig and not hringja mig/mér or hringja til mín?

With the meaning “to call (on the phone),” hringja takes the preposition í with the person you call, and í governs the accusative: hringja í + accusative (e.g., í mig, í þig, í hann/hana, í okkur, í ykkur). Hringja mig/mér is incorrect, and hringja til mín is not used for calling a person.

What case is mig, and what are the forms of “I”?

Mig is accusative. The full set is:

• Nominative: ég
• Accusative: mig
• Dative: mér
• Genitive: mín

Why is it þegar þú kemur and not something like þegar þú munt koma?

In time clauses introduced by þegar (“when”), Icelandic normally uses the present tense to refer to future time. So þegar þú kemur means “when you come/when you get.” Using munu (“will”) here is unnatural.

Why heim and not heima?

Heim indicates direction (“home(wards)”), while heima indicates location (“at home”). After koma (“to come”), you’re expressing a destination, so koma heim. Compare:

• Ég kem heim. = I come home.
• Ég er heima. = I am at home.

Is the word order inside the þegar-clause normal? Why isn’t the verb at the end?

Yes. Icelandic keeps the verb in second position in most finite clauses, including this subordinate clause: þegar (complementizer) + þú (subject) + kemur (verb) + heim. You do not send the verb to the end as in German. Note that Þegar kemur þú heim? is a direct question (“When do you come home?”), not a subordinate clause.

Should there be a comma before þegar?

No comma is needed here in modern usage. Mundu að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim. is standard punctuation.

How do I pronounce the tricky parts?

• hr- in hringja: voiceless “r”; you can approximate it as an “h” before “r” (“hr”).
• ngj in hringja: pronounced with a palatalized “nj” plus a hard “gj” sound; a good approximation is “HRIN-ya.”
• í: long “ee.”
• mig: the final g is softened; many say it almost like “mih”/“miy.”
• þ in þegar/þú: unvoiced “th” (as in “thing”).
• ð in að: voiced “th” (as in “this”).

Can I use Mundu ekki... to mean “Don’t forget…”?

No. Mundu ekki að hringja... literally means “Don’t remember to call…,” which is not what you want. Use Ekki gleyma að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim. (“Don’t forget to call me when you get home.”)

Is there a more direct way to say “Call me when you get home”?

Yes. Use the imperative of hringja: Hringdu í mig þegar þú kemur heim. For several people: Hringið í mig þegar þið komið heim.

How do I address more than one person with Mundu?

Use the plural imperative and plural agreement: Munið að hringja í mig þegar þið komið heim.

What’s the difference between þegar and hvenær?

Þegar is a conjunction (“when”) introducing a clause. Hvenær is the question word “when?”:

• Mundu að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim.
• Hvenær kemur þú heim? = “When do you come home?”

Could I say Mundu eftir að hringja...?

Yes. Muna eftir að + infinitive is also common and means the same here. Both Mundu að hringja... and Mundu eftir að hringja... are fine.

Why not þegar þú kemurðu?

The clitic -ðu attaches to verbs to form yes/no questions in the 2nd person (e.g., Kemurðu? = “Are you coming?”). In a subordinate clause like þegar þú kemur, you are not asking a question, so you use plain kemur.

Can I use síma as a verb for “to phone”?

No. Sími is a noun (“phone”). The verb you need is hringja (“to call/phone”): hringja í mig.

What are the present-tense forms of koma so I can see where kemur comes from?

Present indicative:

• ég kem
• þú kemur
• hann/hún/það kemur
• við komum
• þið komið
• þeir/þær/þau koma

How can I say “as soon as you get home” instead of just “when”?

Use um leið og or strax og:

• Mundu að hringja í mig um leið og þú kemur heim.
• Mundu að hringja í mig strax og þú kemur heim.

How can I make it a bit more polite or emphatic?

Add polite/emphatic adverbs:

• Vinsamlegast mundu að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim.
• Mundu endilega að hringja í mig þegar þú kemur heim.