Questions & Answers about Mig langar að borða eitthvað núna.
In Icelandic, mig is the accusative form of ég (I).
The verb langa is impersonal, which means:
- The person who feels the desire is in the accusative case.
- The verb itself stays in 3rd person singular (langar) regardless of who wants something.
So:
- Mig langar... = I want... (literally: Me wants...)
- Þig langar... = You want... (literally: You-ACC wants...)
- Hana langar... = She wants... (literally: Her-ACC wants...)
So you must use mig, not ég, with langar in this structure.
The dictionary form of the verb is að langa. It means to long for, to feel like, to want.
In this construction it behaves as an impersonal verb:
- It always appears as langar in the present tense in everyday speech, no matter who the experiencer is.
- The “subject” in a grammatical sense is actually what is wanted (here, að borða eitthvað núna, to eat something now).
- The experiencer (mig) is in the accusative case.
Compare:
- Mig langar að borða. – I want to eat.
- Þig langar að borða. – You want to eat.
- Okkur langar að borða. – We want to eat.
In all of them, the verb form is langar.
Yes, you can also say Ég vil borða eitthvað núna. It is correct, and it also means I want to eat something now.
Nuance:
- Mig langar að borða eitthvað núna.
– Feels a bit softer, more like I feel like eating something now / I would like to eat something now. - Ég vil borða eitthvað núna.
– More direct, like I want to eat something now (can sound slightly stronger or more determined).
Both are common; mig langar is very natural in everyday speech when talking about desires and wishes.
Here að is the infinitive marker, equivalent to to in English to eat.
- borða by itself is the verb eat in its dictionary / infinitive form.
- að borða = to eat.
So the structure is:
- Mig langar að borða...
I want to eat...
Note that að can also mean to (as a preposition) or act as that (a conjunction), but in this sentence it is specifically the infinitive marker.
Yes, borða can be both:
- Infinitive (dictionary form): að borða – to eat
- 1st person singular present: ég borða – I eat
In að borða, the verb is in the infinitive because it follows the infinitive marker að.
Compare:
- Ég borða núna. – I am eating now. (finite verb: ég borða)
- Mig langar að borða núna. – I want to eat now. (infinitive: að borða)
eitthvað is an indefinite pronoun meaning something or anything, depending on context.
In this sentence:
- að borða eitthvað = to eat something.
Common uses:
- Mig langar að gera eitthvað. – I want to do something.
- Sástu eitthvað? – Did you see anything?
- Segðu mér eitthvað. – Tell me something.
Grammatically, eitthvað is neuter and does not change form in the nominative/accusative singular, which is why it stays as eitthvað here.
Both can be translated as now, but there is a slight difference in feel and typical use:
núna
– More like right now / at the moment / at this time.
– Very common in everyday speech for the immediate present:
Mig langar að borða eitthvað núna. – I want to eat something right now.nú
– Can mean now in a more general or contrastive sense, sometimes like these days, at this point, or used in discourse (e.g. Nú… as “Well, now…”). – Also used in some fixed phrases.
You could say Mig langar að borða eitthvað nú and people would understand, but núna is the more natural choice here for right now.
Yes, Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible, especially with adverbs like núna. Some possibilities:
- Mig langar að borða eitthvað núna.
- Mig langar að borða núna eitthvað. (possible, but less natural)
- Núna langar mig að borða eitthvað.
- Mig langar núna að borða eitthvað. (slightly different emphasis)
The most neutral, common version is the original:
- Mig langar að borða eitthvað núna.
Moving núna usually just changes emphasis or style, not the basic meaning.
Yes, Mig langar í mat is correct, and it also expresses hunger.
Difference:
- Mig langar að borða eitthvað.
– Focus on the action: I want to eat something. - Mig langar í mat.
– Focus on the thing desired: I want (some) food.
– Structure: langa í + noun (accusative)
So:
- Mig langar að borða eitthvað núna. – I feel like eating something now.
- Mig langar í mat núna. – I feel like (having) food now.
Both are natural when you are hungry; the emphasis differs slightly.
You need to:
- Put langa in the past: langaði
- Add ekki (not)
- Change eitthvað (something) to neitt (anything) in a negative sentence.
Result:
- Mig langaði ekki að borða neitt núna.
= I didn’t want to eat anything now.
Pattern:
- Present: Mig langar að borða eitthvað. – I want to eat something.
- Past: Mig langaði að borða eitthvað. – I wanted to eat something.
- Negative past: Mig langaði ekki að borða neitt. – I didn’t want to eat anything.
In standard Icelandic, the correct form is Mig langar, with accusative.
- Mig langar... – standard, taught form (accusative of ég).
- Mér langar... – uses dative; it does occur in some speakers’ usage but is generally considered non‑standard / incorrect in formal language.
So as a learner, you should consistently use:
- Mig langar, Þig langar, Hana langar, Okkur langar, etc.
An approximate IPA transcription:
- Mig – /mɪɣ/
- langar – /ˈlauŋkar/ (first syllable stressed)
- að – /aːð/ (often sounds close to a long a with a soft ð or even almost silent ð)
- borða – /ˈpɔrða/
- eitthvað – /ˈei̯θ.kʰvað/ (the tt+h gives an unvoiced th sound)
- núna – /ˈnuːna/
Whole sentence (approximate):
[mɪɣ ˈlauŋkar aːð ˈpɔrða ˈei̯θkʰvað ˈnuːna]
Main points:
- Stress is always on the first syllable of each word.
- Final -r in langar is lightly pronounced.
- ð is a soft th sound, often weakened between vowels or at word end.