Við viljum fleiri bækur í bókasafninu.

We want more books in the library.

Breakdown of Við viljum fleiri bækur í bókasafninu.

• vilja: to want
• við: we
• bók: the book
• í: in
• bókasafn: the library
• fleiri: more

Questions & Answers about Við viljum fleiri bækur í bókasafninu.

Why is við used here instead of okkur?

Icelandic has case forms for pronouns:

• við = we in the nominative (subject form)
• okkur = us in the accusative/dative (object form)

In this sentence, við is the subject – the ones doing the wanting – so nominative is required:

• Við (subject) viljum fleiri bækur… → We want more books…

You would use okkur when it’s an object, for example:

• Hann sér okkur. – He sees us.
  (Here okkur is the direct object.)

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How is the verb vilja conjugated, and why is it viljum here?

Vilja means to want. It’s an irregular verb (a “preterite-present” verb), and in the present tense it’s conjugated:

• 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 við (we), you must use the 1st person plural form viljum.

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In English I’d say “We want to have more books.” Where is “to have” in the Icelandic sentence?

Icelandic does not need an extra verb like to have here. The verb vilja can directly take a noun phrase as its object:

• Við viljum fleiri bækur. – We want more books.

If you want to say “We want to read more books”, then you use an infinitive verb:

• Við viljum lesa fleiri bækur. – We want to read more books.

So:

• vilja + noun → want (something)
• vilja + infinitive verb → want to (do something)

There is no dummy “to have” needed.

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Why is it fleiri and not meira or meiri here?

Icelandic distinguishes between:

• fleiri – more (of them), used with countable plural things
• meira / meiri – more (amount/quantity), often used with mass nouns or to mean a greater amount/extent

Bækur (books) are individual countable items, so fleiri is the natural choice:

• fleiri bækur – more (individual) books
  Compare:

• meira vatn – more water
• meiri vinna – more work (a greater amount of work)

With plural countable nouns, fleiri is what you usually want.

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What form of bók is bækur, and why does it look so different?

Bækur is the plural nominative/accusative of bók (book). The noun bók is irregular:

Singular (indefinite):

• nom: bók – a book
• acc: bók
• dat: bók
• gen: bókar

Plural (indefinite):

• nom: bækur – books
• acc: bækur
• dat: bókum
• gen: bóka

So the vowel changes (ó → æ) and -ur is added in the nominative/accusative plural, giving bækur.

In our sentence, bækur is the direct object of viljum, so it is in the accusative plural – which happens to look the same as the nominative plural.

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Why is bækur in the accusative case here?

In Icelandic, many verbs govern specific cases. The verb vilja (to want) takes its direct object in the accusative.

• Við viljum fleiri bækur.
  
  • við – nominative subject
  • viljum – verb
  • fleiri bækur – accusative object (what is being wanted)

If you changed the noun, it would still be accusative:

• Við viljum meira vatn. – We want more water.
• Við viljum nýjan bíl. – We want a new car.

In all these examples, the thing wanted is in the accusative.

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Why do we use í in í bókasafninu and not á?

Both í and á can translate as in / at / on, but they’re used differently:

• í – literally in, inside something
• á – on, on top of, and often at for certain places (e.g. at work, at school)

A bókasafn (library) is seen as an enclosed space you are inside, so Icelandic uses í:

• í bókasafninu – in the library

Compare:

• í húsinu – in the house
• á bókasafninu is possible in some dialects/contexts, but the neutral standard expression for physical location inside a library is í bókasafninu.

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What does the ending -inu in bókasafninu mean?

Bókasafninu is:

• the noun bókasafn (library)
• in the dative singular
• with a definite article attached

Breakdown:

• base noun: bókasafn – library
• dative singular (indefinite): bókasafni
• add definite ending -ðinu / -inu → bókasafninu – in the library

Because the preposition í expresses location here (in), it takes the dative. So:

• í bókasafni – in a library
• í bókasafninu – in the library

The definite article in Icelandic is usually not a separate word, but a suffix.

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How does the Icelandic definite article work in words like bókasafn, bókasafnið, bókasafninu?

Icelandic typically attaches the as a suffix to the noun. For bókasafn (library), neuter singular:

• bókasafn – a library (nom/acc)
• bókasafnið – the library (nom/acc)
• bókasafni – (in) a library (dat)
• bókasafninu – (in) the library (dat)

So:

• No article: bókasafn, bókasafni – a library
• Definite article: bókasafnið, bókasafninu – the library

In our sentence, í bókasafninu uses the dative definite because we’re talking about a specific library and í requires the dative for location.

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Could I say Við viljum í bókasafninu fleiri bækur instead, or is the word order fixed?

The neutral, most natural order is:

• Við viljum fleiri bækur í bókasafninu.

This follows common Icelandic SVO word order:

1. Subject: Við
2. Verb: viljum
3. Object: fleiri bækur
4. Place phrase: í bókasafninu

Putting í bókasafninu earlier (e.g. Við viljum í bókasafninu fleiri bækur) is possible in some contexts to emphasize the location, but it sounds marked and less natural as a default.

As a general rule when learning:

• Keep subject – verb – object – place in that order unless you have a specific reason to move things around.

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Does fleiri change form to agree with bækur, like adjectives usually do?

In Icelandic, adjectives normally agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Fleiri is the comparative plural of margur (many), and in practice it usually appears as fleiri for all genders and cases in the plural.

With bækur (feminine plural accusative), it is:

• fleiri bækur – more books

If you change the noun, fleiri still stays the same in most everyday uses:

• fleiri stólar – more chairs (masc. pl.)
• fleiri börn – more children (neut. pl.)

So yes, it functions like an adjective, but its visible form fleiri normally doesn’t change across plural genders/cases.

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How would I say “We don’t want more books in the library”? Where does ekki go?

Negation with ekki normally comes right after the finite verb. So:

• Við viljum fleiri bækur í bókasafninu.
  – We want more books in the library.

Negated:

• Við viljum ekki fleiri bækur í bókasafninu.
  – We don’t want more books in the library.

Structure:

• subject (Við)
• verb (viljum)
• negation (ekki)
• rest of the sentence (fleiri bækur í bókasafninu)

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Is vilja used the same way as English to want, or are there other common verbs like langar I should know?

Vilja is close to English to want, but Icelandic also frequently uses langar (í) to express desire.

1. vilja + noun/infinitive

   • Við viljum fleiri bækur. – We want more books.
   • Ég vil lesa. – I want to read.

2. (einhvern) langar (í) + accusative – literally it (longs) someone (for) something

   • Mig langar í fleiri bækur. – I feel like having more books / I want more books.
   • Okkur langar að fara heim. – We feel like going home / We want to go home.

Both are common. Vilja can sound a bit more direct or strong; langar often feels more like “I’d like / I feel like”.

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How do you pronounce við viljum fleiri bækur í bókasafninu?

Approximate pronunciation with English-like hints:

• við – like vith (with the th from this), short i
• viljum – VIL-yum (the lj a bit like ly), short i
• fleiri – FLAY-ri (æ/ei like English day)
• bækur – BYE-kur (æ like eye, ur is short, with a lightly trilled or tapped r)
• í – long ee as in see
• bókasafninu – roughly BO-ka-saf-ni-nu
  
  • ó like oh
  • fn often pronounced together; the f may sound more like p before n

Spoken at normal speed, some sounds blend, but this gives you a workable approximation.