Við viljum endurnýja samninginn.

Viljum is the 1st person plural present tense form of the verb vilja (to want).

So:

• ég vil = I want
• þú vilt = you want
• hann/hún/það vill = he/she/it wants
• við viljum = we want
• þið viljið = you (plural) want
• þeir/þær/þau vilja = they want

Because the subject is við (we), the verb has to be viljum.

Because vilja is followed by another verb in the infinitive.

So the structure is:

• við viljum = we want
• endurnýja = to renew

Together: we want to renew

In Icelandic, after vilja, you normally use the infinitive without að.

So Icelandic says:

• Við viljum endurnýja samninginn.

Not:

• Við viljum að endurnýja samninginn.

That would be incorrect.

English uses to in phrases like want to renew, but Icelandic often does not.

After verbs like vilja, the infinitive usually appears by itself:

• vilja fara = want to go
• vilja borða = want to eat
• vilja endurnýja = want to renew

So English to renew corresponds here simply to endurnýja.

Samninginn means the contract.

The basic noun is:

• samningur = contract, agreement

In the sentence, it appears as samninginn because it is:

• singular
• definite (the contract)
• accusative case

The ending -inn is the attached definite article, roughly like English the, but in Icelandic it is usually added onto the noun rather than written as a separate word.

Because it is the direct object of the verb endurnýja (to renew).

The sentence is:

• Við = subject
• viljum endurnýja = verb phrase
• samninginn = object

Many Icelandic verbs take their object in the accusative, and endurnýja is one of them.

So:

• samningur = nominative form
• samninginn = accusative definite form

This is a normal Icelandic noun pattern.

The noun samningur is a masculine noun. Masculine nouns of this type often change form depending on case and definiteness.

A useful mini-pattern is:

• samningur = a contract (nominative, indefinite)
• samning = a contract (accusative, indefinite)
• samninginn = the contract (accusative, definite)

So two things happen:

1. the nominative ending -ur disappears in the accusative
2. the definite article -inn gets added

That gives samninginn.

It is singular.

• samningur = a contract
• samninginn = the contract

If it were plural, the form would be different.

So this sentence refers to one specific contract, not several.

Yes, in many contexts Við viljum endurnýja samninginn can sound like either:

• We want to renew the contract
• We would like to renew the contract

The exact tone depends on context and voice. Icelandic vilja often covers both straightforward desire and a more polite statement of intention.

If you need to be especially polite, Icelandic can also use other phrasing, but this sentence is very normal and natural.

The basic order here is:

• Við = subject
• viljum = finite verb
• endurnýja = infinitive
• samninginn = object

So:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive + object

This is a very common Icelandic sentence pattern.

Yes, Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible, but the version you have is the most neutral and natural.

The sentence:

• Við viljum endurnýja samninginn.

is the straightforward way to say it.

Icelandic has a strong verb-second tendency, so if something else is placed first for emphasis, the finite verb usually still comes second. But for a beginner, this sentence is best learned in its normal form.

Yes, it is easy to think of endurnýja as built from parts.

• endur- = re-, again
• nýja = make new / renew

So endurnýja literally has the idea of make new again, which matches English renew.

This can help you remember it.

Við is pronounced roughly like vith or with without the strong English w sound.

A few points:

• v is like English v
• i is a short vowel here
• ð in Icelandic is often like the th in this, though at the end of a word it can be weaker depending on speech

So við is roughly vith.

Viljum is roughly pronounced VIL-yum.

Helpful notes:

• the stress is on the first syllable
• lj in Icelandic can be tricky for English speakers; in careful beginner terms, thinking ly is good enough at first
• the ending -um sounds like um

So a beginner-friendly approximation is:

• VIL-yum

A beginner-friendly approximation is:

VITH VIL-yum EN-dur-nya SAM-ning-inn

A few reminders:

• Icelandic stress is usually on the first syllable
• ð in við is like th in this
• ý is not exactly like English ee, but many learners start with a simplified approximation
• samninginn has the stress at the beginning: SAM-...

This kind of approximation is useful at first, even if it is not perfectly native.

Yes, but it would mean something slightly different.

• samninginn = the contract
• samning = a contract / contract in a less specific sense

So:

• Við viljum endurnýja samninginn. = We want to renew the contract.
• Við viljum endurnýja samning. = We want to renew a contract.
  This is less specific and may sound less natural unless the context supports it.

In your sentence, samninginn shows that a specific contract is being talked about.

The dictionary form is samningur.

In Icelandic dictionaries, nouns are normally listed in the:

• nominative singular indefinite

So even though the sentence uses samninginn, you would look up samningur.

In normal Icelandic, the subject pronoun is usually expressed, so við is natural here.

Unlike languages such as Spanish or Italian, Icelandic generally does not drop subject pronouns regularly in ordinary sentences.

So:

• Við viljum endurnýja samninginn.

is the normal full sentence.

Here við is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

So the sentence has:

• við = nominative subject
• samninginn = accusative object

That subject-object contrast is very typical in Icelandic grammar.