Breakdown of Ég vil ekki brjóta reglurnar heima.
Questions & Answers about Ég vil ekki brjóta reglurnar heima.
In Icelandic main clauses, the finite verb (here vil) normally comes in second position. The negation ekki usually comes right after that verb.
So the natural word order is:
- Ég vil ekki … – I want not …
Putting ekki before the verb (Ég ekki vil …) is ungrammatical in normal statements, and putting it later (e.g. Ég vil brjóta ekki reglurnar) sounds marked or odd in this simple sentence.
Vilja is the infinitive form “to want”. It is irregular and conjugates like this in the present tense:
- ég vil – I want
- þú vilt – you (sg.) want
- hann/hún/það vill – he/she/it wants
- við viljum – we want
- þið viljið – you (pl.) want
- þeir/þær/þau vilja – they want
Because the subject is ég (I), you must use the 1st person singular form vil, not the infinitive vilja.
Brjóta is the infinitive form of the verb “to break”.
Normally, infinitives in Icelandic use að (like að brjóta = “to break”).
However, after certain modal verbs such as:
- vilja – to want
- geta – can/be able to
- mega – may/be allowed to
- ætla – to intend
- þurfa – to need
the infinitive appears without að.
So:
- Ég vil brjóta reglurnar. – I want to break the rules. (no að)
- Ég byrja að brjóta reglurnar. – I start to break the rules. (here you do use að)
Saying Ég vil að brjóta reglurnar is ungrammatical.
Brjóta is used both for literal and figurative breaking:
- brjóta glugga – to break a window
- brjóta bein – to break a bone
- brjóta reglur / reglurnar – to break rules / the rules
- brjóta loforð – to break a promise
So using brjóta reglurnar for “break the rules” is completely natural.
The noun regla means “rule”.
Its main forms (singular vs plural) are:
- singular:
- regla – rule (indefinite, nominative)
- regluna – the rule (definite, accusative)
- plural:
- reglur – rules (indefinite, nom./acc.)
- reglurnar – the rules (definite, nom./acc.)
In brjóta reglurnar, we have:
- brjóta – verb taking a direct object in the accusative
- reglurnar – accusative plural definite: “the rules”
So reglur = rules, reglurnar = the rules. The sentence is specifically about the rules, not rules in general.
For many feminine nouns like regla, the nominative plural and the accusative plural have identical forms:
- indef.: reglur (nom. pl.) = reglur (acc. pl.)
- def.: reglurnar (nom. pl.) = reglurnar (acc. pl.)
In such cases, you know the case from the grammar role, not the form:
- Subject → nominative:
- Reglurnar eru strangar. – The rules are strict. (subject, so nominative)
- Direct object → accusative:
- Ég brýt reglurnar. – I break the rules. (object, so accusative)
The shape is the same; the function is different.
Heima is an adverb meaning “at home”. It already contains the idea of “at”, so you don’t add a preposition:
- Ég er heima. – I am at home.
- Ég vil vera heima. – I want to be at home.
- Ég vil ekki brjóta reglurnar heima. – I don’t want to break the rules at home.
Contrast it with heim, which is directional and means (to) home:
- Ég fer heim. – I go (to) home.
So:
- heima = at home (location)
- heim = home(ward) (direction)
On its own, heima most often implies your own home or where you live:
- Ég er heima. – I’m at home (my home).
If you want to make it clearly someone else’s home, you normally add more words:
- heima hjá ömmu – at grandma’s home
- heima hjá vini mínum – at my friend’s place
In your sentence, heima most naturally means at (my) home, i.e. the speaker’s home environment.
Neutral word order in Icelandic main clauses is often:
Subject – finite verb – ekki – (other verbs) – objects – adverbs (place, time, etc.)
So we have:
- Ég (subject)
- vil (finite verb)
- ekki (negation)
- brjóta reglurnar (verb + object)
- heima (place adverb)
Putting heima before the object or between the verb and object, like:
- Ég vil ekki heima brjóta reglurnar
sounds unnatural. The original order is the default and best choice.
Ég is usually pronounced something like:
- [jɛːɣ] or [jeːɣ]
So:
- The É is like an English “ye” sound (as in yes), but longer.
- There is often a soft [ɣ] sound at the end (like a very soft “g” in the back of the throat), though in casual speech it can be weak or dropped.
So it’s more like “yeh” (long) with a soft back-of-the-mouth ending, not like plain “egg”.
A careful IPA transcription is roughly [ˈprjouːta].
Main points for an English speaker:
- Stress is on the first syllable: BRJÓ-ta.
- brj- is like bry- but with a bit of “y” glide (similar to the start of “brew” plus a slight y-sound).
- ó is a long “o” sound, roughly like in go or boat, but keep it pure, not diphthongy.
- Final -ta is like ta in taco (with a clear “t” and short “a”).
All Icelandic words have main stress on the first syllable, which is helpful as a rule of thumb.
Yes, that’s a slightly different nuance: “any rules” instead of “the rules”.
One natural Icelandic version would be:
- Ég vil ekki brjóta neinar reglur heima.
Here:
- neinar reglur = any rules (feminine accusative plural: neinar
- reglur)
- This is more general and less tied to a specific known set of rules.
Your original Ég vil ekki brjóta reglurnar heima. focuses on some specific rules (e.g. the house rules).
Both can be translated as “want”, but they work differently:
Vilja (ég vil)
- More volitional / deliberate: “I want (I choose to)”.
- Structure: subject in nominative + vil + infinitive
- Example: Ég vil brjóta reglurnar. – I want to break the rules.
Langar (mig langar)
- More about desire / feeling like doing something.
- Structure: accusative experiencer + langar + að + infinitive
- Example: Mig langar ekki að brjóta reglurnar.
- Literally: Me-ACC longs not to break the rules.
- Meaning: I don’t feel like breaking the rules.
Your sentence with Ég vil ekki … sounds like a conscious decision not to break the rules. Using Mig langar ekki að brjóta reglurnar heima would stress lack of desire more than a decision.