Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Við borðum ekki skinku, nema hún sé fersk.

Because sé is the present subjunctive of vera (to be). After nema meaning “unless,” Icelandic typically uses the subjunctive to mark a conditional or hypothetical restriction: nema hún sé fersk (“unless it be fresh”). Using the indicative er here would sound wrong to most speakers.

Present indicative of vera: ég er, þú ert, hann/hún/það er, við erum, þið eruð, þeir/þær/þau eru. Present subjunctive of vera: ég sé, þú sért, hann/hún/það sé, við séum, þið séuð, þeir/þær/þau séu.

What exactly does nema mean here, and are there alternatives?

Here nema means “unless.” A very close paraphrase is to flip it into a positive “only if” statement:

Við borðum aðeins/bara ferska skinku. (“We only eat fresh ham.”)
You can also say it with a conditional: Við borðum skinku aðeins ef hún er fersk.

Another common structure is ekki nema (“not except”), e.g. Við borðum ekki nema ferska skinku = “We eat nothing but fresh ham.”

Why does skinka become skinku?

Skinka is a regular feminine -a noun. As the direct object of borða, it takes the accusative singular, which is skinku.

Singular: nominative skinka, accusative skinku, dative skinku, genitive skinku.
Plural: nominative skinkur, accusative skinkur, dative skinkum, genitive skinka.

Why is the pronoun hún used and not það?

Because hún agrees in gender with its antecedent skinka, which is grammatically feminine. In Icelandic, third-person pronouns usually match the noun’s grammatical gender, not its “thingness.” það is neuter and wouldn’t refer back to skinka here.

Why is it fersk and not ferskt/ferskur/ferska?

Predicate adjectives agree with the subject in gender and number. The subject of the clause is hún (feminine singular), so the adjective is feminine singular: fersk.

Masculine: ferskur
Feminine: fersk
Neuter: ferskt

Where does ekki go, and could I put it after skinku?

In a simple main clause, ekki normally comes right after the finite verb:

Við borðum ekki skinku … (“We don’t eat ham …”)

Placing ekki after the object (e.g., …skinku ekki) is not the neutral word order and would sound odd here unless you’re doing special focus or a different construction. Keep it after the verb.

Can I drop the pronoun and say just “nema sé fersk”?

No. Icelandic is not a pro-drop language, so you generally can’t omit the subject pronoun in finite clauses. You need hún in nema hún sé fersk.

Why is there a comma before nema?

Icelandic often places a comma before a clause introduced by nema (similar to English before “unless”). It separates the main statement from the exception clause. You’ll see it written both with and without the comma in modern texts; the version with a comma is common and clear.

How is borða conjugated with við?

Present: við borðum (“we eat”)
Past: við borðuðum (“we ate”)
Present perfect: við höfum borðað (“we have eaten”)
Imperative (1st person plural, “let’s”): borðum!

How do I say the same idea positively, like “We only eat fresh ham”?

Við borðum aðeins/bara ferska skinku.
Við borðum ekki nema ferska skinku. Here ferska skinku is the normal attributive form: adjective before the noun in the accusative singular.

Does nema always trigger the subjunctive?

When nema means “unless,” the subjunctive is the norm: nema hún sé fersk. When nema functions more like “except (for/that)” or in the set phrase ekki nema (“only/except”), you may get non-clausal complements or an indicative clause depending on structure. But for the “unless” meaning you’re learning here, use the subjunctive.

Could I use an “if … not …” construction instead of nema?

Yes. Logical paraphrase:

Ef hún er ekki fersk, borðum við ekki skinku. (“If it isn’t fresh, we don’t eat ham.”) This is equivalent in meaning to “We don’t eat ham unless it’s fresh.”

Why is there no word for “a” in “skinku”? Shouldn’t it be “a ham”?

Icelandic has no indefinite article. A bare noun often corresponds to English “a” or mass “some.” So (ekki) skinku naturally translates as “(no) ham” or “(not) a ham,” depending on context. Definiteness is usually marked with a suffixed article: skinkuna = “the ham.”

What’s the difference between skinku and skinkuna here?

Við borðum ekki skinku, … = “We don’t eat ham (in general), …”
Við borðum ekki skinkuna, … = “We don’t eat the ham (a specific ham), …” Use -na to mark the definite form if you’re referring to a particular ham that’s known in context.

How do you pronounce the tricky parts, especially skinku?

skinku is pronounced roughly “SHING-koo.” Two helpful tips:
- sk before front vowels like i/í/e/ý/æ is pronounced like a “sh”-type sound.
- nk is pronounced [ŋk] (as in English “sing” + “k”). Approximate pronunciations:
Við ≈ “vith” (ð as in “this”),
borðum ≈ “BOR-thum” (ð like “this”),
ekki ≈ “EH-chi” (the “kk” gives a voiceless “hy/chi” sound),
skinku ≈ “SHING-koo”,
nema ≈ “NAY-ma,”
hún ≈ “hoon,”
sé ≈ “s-yeh,”
fersk ≈ “fersk.”