Ég man það núna, en ég gleymi því stundum.

I

Breakdown of Ég man það núna, en ég gleymi því stundum.

• það: it
• núna: now
• stundum: sometimes
• en: but
• gleyma: to forget
• muna: to remember

Questions & Answers about Ég man það núna, en ég gleymi því stundum.

Why is it man and not the dictionary form muna?

Because Icelandic verbs don’t use the infinitive in finite clauses. The verb muna is irregular in the present tense; the 1st person singular is ég man. Key present forms:

• ég man
• þú manst
• hann/hún/það man
• við munum
• þið munið
• þau/þeir/þær muna

Don’t confuse muna “remember” with the auxiliary munu “will.” For example, við munum can mean either “we remember” (from muna) or “we will” (from munu); context disambiguates.

Past of muna is mundi (with u): Ég mundi það “I remembered it.” That’s different from myndi (with y), which is the conditional of munu (“I would”).

Why is it það in the first clause but því in the second?

Different verbs take different cases:

• muna e-ð “remember something” takes the accusative, so the pronoun is það.
• gleyma e-u “forget something” takes the dative, so the pronoun is því.

Relevant forms of “it”:

• nominative/accusative: það
• dative: því
• genitive: þess

Do I have to keep the “it,” or can I say Ég man núna and ég gleymi stundum?

You can drop the object if you mean it generally:

• Ég man (núna). = “I remember (now).”
• Ég gleymi stundum. = “I forget sometimes.”

But if you’re referring to a specific thing previously mentioned, you normally keep the object pronoun:

• Ég man það núna.
• Ég gleymi því stundum.

If the “it” is an entire clause, use að:

• Ég man að hann kom. = “I remember that he came.” (No það needed.)

Why is núna at the end? Could it go elsewhere?

Time adverbs like núna often come after the object: Ég man það núna. You can also front it; Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2), so the verb still comes second:

• Núna man ég það.

Where does stundum go? Is Ég gleymi því stundum the only option?

All of these are acceptable, with small differences in emphasis:

• Ég gleymi því stundum. (very natural; short pronoun early)
• Ég gleymi stundum því. (also fine)
• Stundum gleymi ég því. (fronting stundum for emphasis on “sometimes”)

Why is there a comma before en?

En (“but”) is a coordinating conjunction. When it connects two independent clauses, Icelandic normally places a comma before it:

• Ég man það núna, en ég gleymi því stundum. If it only connects smaller phrases, the comma may be omitted.

What’s the difference between en and heldur?

• en = “but” (general contrast): Ég man það núna, en ég gleymi því stundum.
• heldur = “but rather,” and it must follow a negation:
  Ég man það ekki núna, heldur seinna. = “I don’t remember it now, but rather later.”

Where does ekki go if I want to negate something here?

Typical placements:

• “I don’t remember it now”: Ég man það ekki núna. / Núna man ég það ekki.
• “I don’t forget it anymore”: Ég gleymi því ekki lengur. In simple main clauses, the finite verb is in second position; ekki usually follows objects/complements.

How do I say “remember to do something” vs. “remember someone/something”?

• Remember a fact/thing: muna e-ð (accusative): Ég man það.
• Remember someone/something from memory: muna eftir e-m/e-u (dative): Manstu eftir mér? Ég man eftir honum.
• Remember to do something: muna að + infinitive (often imperative): Mundu að hringja.
• More formal “recall/remember (commemorate)”: minnast e-s (genitive): Ég minnist hans.

How does gleyma conjugate?

Present:

• ég gleymi, þú gleymir, hann/hún/það gleymir
• við gleymum, þið gleymið, þau/þeir/þær gleyma

Past:

• ég gleymdi, þú gleymdir, hann/hún/það gleymdi
• við gleymdum, þið gleymduð, þau/þeir/þær gleymdu

Past participle: gleymt. The verb always takes the dative object: gleymi því.

Should I repeat ég after the comma, or can I leave it out?

Both are fine:

• With repetition (very common and clear): Ég man það núna, en ég gleymi því stundum.
• Without repetition (also natural in coordination when the subject is the same): Ég man það núna, en gleymi því stundum.
  Icelandic isn’t generally a “drop-subject” language, but coordinated clauses often omit a repeated subject.

Why isn’t it Ég gleymi það?

Because gleyma governs the dative, not the accusative. So you must say Ég gleymi því (“I forget it”), not Ég gleymi það.

If the thing I’m remembering/forgetting has gender, do I still use það?

Use the pronoun that matches the antecedent’s grammatical gender and case:

• Masculine: hann → acc. hann, dat. honum (e.g., bíll “car”): Ég man hann / Ég gleymi honum.
• Feminine: hún → acc. hana, dat. henni (e.g., bók “book”): Ég man hana / Ég gleymi henni.
• Neuter: það → acc. það, dat. því (e.g., mál “matter”): Ég man það / Ég gleymi því.

When “it” refers to a clause or abstract “that,” það is common, or you switch to að + clause.

Is núna different from nú?

Both mean “now.” Núna often feels a bit more like “right now” and is very common in speech; nú is shorter and a bit more formal/neutral. Both fit here: Ég man það nú(na).

How do you pronounce the tricky pieces?

• Ég ≈ “yeh/yei” with a soft, fricative g at the end.
• þ (as in það, því) = voiceless “th” in “thin.”
• ð (as in það) = voiced “th” in “this” (often very soft).
• ey (in gleymi) ≈ “ay” in “say.”
• ú (in núna) ≈ long “oo.”
• í (in því) ≈ long “ee.”
• Stress is on the first syllable: ÉG man það NÚna, ÉG GLEYmi því STUNDum.

Can I start the second clause with Stundum?

Yes. Fronting is common for emphasis, and the verb still stays in second position:

• Stundum gleymi ég því.