Questions & Answers about Við verðum að virða reglurnar í skólanum.
Why is við used here? Does Icelandic need the subject pronoun?
Við means we.
Yes, Icelandic often includes subject pronouns, even though the verb ending already gives person and number. So:
- Við verðum = we must
- not just bare Verðum in a normal statement
You can sometimes omit or rearrange things in special contexts, but for a standard sentence, við is the natural choice.
What form is verðum?
Verðum is the 1st person plural present tense of verða.
In this sentence, verða is not being used in its basic sense become. Instead, the pattern:
- verða að + infinitive
means must / have to.
So:
- ég verð að = I must
- þú verður að = you must
- við verðum að = we must
This is a very common Icelandic structure.
Why does Icelandic use verða að for must?