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Icelandic

Joining a secret society means navigating a maze of highly restrictive rules. To talk about exclusions and special privileges, you will need the word **nema** (except).

### The Mirror Rule: Case Matching

In English, "except" usually forces the following word into an object form (e.g., "everyone except *me*"). In Icelandic, **nema** acts like a mirror: the exception must match the grammatical case of the word it refers back to.

If the exception refers back to a subject, the word after **nema** must also be nominative. Notice how *ég* (I) and *kóngurinn* (the king) stay in the nominative case here:

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### Matching Objects

If the exception refers to an object, it matches that object's case exactly. Here, the exceptions refer back to objects in the accusative case, so they are also accusative:

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This mirror effect is exactly the same for the dative case. If a verb or a preposition dictates that the original noun must be dative, the exception will also appear in the dative case:

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Exceptions (nema)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Obligation (eiga að)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Question	Answer
the secret society	leynifélagið
No one may see the secret society except me.	Enginn má sjá leynifélagið nema ég.
They know no secret society except this one.	Þeir þekkja ekkert leynifélag nema þetta.
the cloak	skikkjan
You must not show up in anything except the black cloak.	Þú mátt ekki mæta í neinu nema svörtu skikkjunni.
All the cloaks are red except yours.	Allar skikkjurnar eru rauðar nema þín.
the oath	eiðurinn
No one breaks the oath except the king.	Enginn brýtur eiðinn nema kóngurinn.
If you broke the oath, the secret society would kill everyone except you.	Ef þú brytir eiðinn, myndi leynifélagið drepa alla nema þig.
the guard (watchman, sentry)	varðmaðurinn
I spoke with everyone except the guard.	Ég talaði við alla nema varðmanninn.
The guard lets no one in except the chairman.	Varðmaðurinn hleypir engum inn nema formanninum.
the initiation	vígslan
The initiation is open to everyone except cats.	Vígslan er opin öllum nema köttum.
He postponed the initiation so that the guard would save everyone except her.	Hann frestaði vígslunni til þess að varðmaðurinn bjargaði öllum nema henni.
the symbol (sign, token)	táknið
We use no symbols except this one.	Við notum engin tákn nema þetta.
The king showed the symbol to everyone except me.	Kóngurinn sýndi öllum táknið nema mér.
chosen	útvalinn
The secret society invites no one except the chosen ones.	Leynifélagið býður engum nema hinum útvöldu.
Everyone died except the chosen boy.	Allir dóu nema hinn útvaldi strákur.
the torch	kyndillinn
I see no one in the dark except those who carry a torch.	Ég sé enga í myrkrinu nema þá sem bera kyndil.
She walked out with everyone except the man with the torch.	Hún gekk út með öllum nema manninum með kyndilinn.
masked	grímuklæddur
The people were afraid of all masked men except him.	Fólkið var hrætt við alla grímuklædda menn nema hann.
All the masked guests went home except you.	Allir grímuklæddu gestirnir fóru heim nema þið.
the throne	hásætið
No one sits on the throne except the queen.	Enginn situr í hásætinu nema drottningin.
We do not dare to look at anything except the throne.	Við þorum ekki að horfa á neitt nema hásætið.