Bankaðu ekki of fast; barnið sefur.

not

Breakdown of Bankaðu ekki of fast; barnið sefur.

• barnið: the child
• sofa: to sleep
• of: too

Questions & Answers about Bankaðu ekki of fast; barnið sefur.

Why does bankaðu end in -ðu?

-ðu is an enclitic form of the 2nd-person singular pronoun þú (you) attached to the imperative. So banka is the imperative stem (Knock!) and bankaðu is essentially Knock, you! In modern Icelandic, this attachment is very common in positive imperatives and often sounds more natural/complete than the bare imperative on its own.

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Is bankaðu the only way to say Knock!?

No. You can also say:

• Banka! (bare imperative; can sound more abrupt)
• Bankaðu! (very common, neutral) For plural or formal address:
• Bankið! (to more than one person / polite plural)

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Why is the negation ekki placed after bankaðu?

In Icelandic, the negator ekki typically follows the finite verb in main clauses, including imperatives. So the normal pattern is:

• Verb + ekki + ... Here: Bankaðu ekki ...

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How would I form the negative imperative without -ðu?