Stelpuna langar ekki að sitja lengi í biðstofunni.

not

Breakdown of Stelpuna langar ekki að sitja lengi í biðstofunni.

• í: in
• sitja: to sit
• lengi: long

Questions & Answers about Stelpuna langar ekki að sitja lengi í biðstofunni.

Why is the experiencer in the accusative (stelpuna) instead of the nominative (stelpan)? Who is the “subject”?

The verb langa is impersonal: the person who feels the desire is put in the accusative case, and the verb stays in 3rd person singular. There is no ordinary nominative subject here.

• Example with a pronoun: Hana langar ekki að sitja… (Her = accusative).
• With pronouns this pattern is: mig, þig, hann/hana, okkur, ykkur, þá/þær/þau
  • langar (e.g., Mig langar…, Okkur langar…).

Can I say Stelpan langar… or Hún langar…?

Not in standard Icelandic. You should use the accusative: Stelpuna/Hana langar…. You may hear Mér langar… (dative) in colloquial speech, but it’s nonstandard; the prescribed form is Mig langar… (accusative).

Why is the verb in second position in Stelpuna langar…? Could I start the sentence with something else?

Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2). Whatever you put first (topic), the finite verb comes next.

• You can say: Hana langar ekki…, Í biðstofunni langar stelpuna ekki…, or use an expletive: Það langar stelpuna ekki…. All keep the finite verb in second position.