Questions & Answers about Ég vakna yfirleitt snemma.
Why is the verb in second position here? Does Icelandic use V2 word order?
Yes. In Icelandic main clauses, the finite verb typically appears in second position (V2). In the neutral order, you get Subject–Verb–(other stuff): Ég vakna yfirleitt snemma. If you front something for emphasis (like an adverb), the verb still stays second: Yfirleitt vakna ég snemma. What you can’t do is split the subject and verb with a sentential adverb while keeping the subject first: *Ég yfirleitt vakna snemma is ungrammatical.
Where should the adverb yfirleitt go?
- Neutral placement: after the finite verb: Ég vakna yfirleitt snemma.
- Fronted for emphasis: Yfirleitt vakna ég snemma.
- Don’t put it before the verb if the subject is first: *Ég yfirleitt vakna snemma (ungrammatical).
- Frequency/scope adverbs like yfirleitt normally come before more specific time adverbs like snemma, so … yfirleitt snemma is the natural order.
What exactly is vakna? Is it reflexive?
Vakna means “to wake up.” It’s an intransitive “middle” verb ending in -na and does not take a reflexive pronoun. So you say Ég vakna, not Ég vakna mig. If you want to emphasize doing it yourself, you can add *sjálfur/sjálf (“myself”) for emphasis only: Ég vakna sjálfur/sjálf snemma.
How do I say “to wake someone up”?
Use vekja (“to wake [someone]”). Examples: