"Quirky" Subjects in Icelandic
In English, we say "I think" or "I like". In Icelandic, the verbs for these actions require the person experiencing the feeling to take the dative case. Instead of using the normal subject pronoun ég (I), you use mér (me). Instead of þú (you), you use þér (you).
Because these dative pronouns act exactly like the subject of the sentence, they are often called "quirky subjects."
Finnast (To think / To find)
Use the verb finnast to express a personal opinion. It works just like saying "I find [something] [adjective]" in English. The verb takes the form finnst for both mér and þér.
| What do you think? | Hvað finnst þér? |
| I think the food is good. | Mér finnst maturinn góður. |
Líka (To like)
To say you like something, use the verb líka. Just like finnast, it requires a quirky dative subject. The verb takes the form líkar for both mér and þér.
| Do you like the food? | Líkar þér maturinn? |
You can also ask "how" someone likes something using the question word hvernig:
| How do you like the movie? | Hvernig líkar þér bíómyndin? |
To emphasize that you like something a lot, add the phrase mjög vel (very well) at the end of the sentence.
| I like the music very much. | Mér líkar tónlistin mjög vel. |
Describing Things
When using finnast with an adjective to judge something, you can make the opinion negative by placing ekki (not) right before the adjective.
| I do not think the ice cream is good. | Mér finnst ísinn ekki góður. |
| Do you think the school is boring? | Finnst þér skólinn leiðinlegur? |
If you are expressing an opinion about a general situation or an unspecific "this", use the pronoun þetta. The adjective that follows must be in its neuter form, such as skemmtilegt instead of the masculine skemmtilegur.
| I find this very fun! | Mér finnst þetta mjög skemmtilegt! |