One class, four verbs you already know
Icelandic has a group of verbs whose subject is not in the nominative. You have met four of them one at a time; they belong together:
| verb | the person stands in | example |
|---|---|---|
| vanta to need | Accusative | mig vantar peninga |
| langa to want | Accusative | mig langar í kaffi |
| líka to like | Dative | mér líkar maturinn |
| finnast to find, to think | Dative | mér finnst þetta gott |
| líða to feel | Dative | mér líður vel |
| leiðast to be bored | Dative | mér leiðist |
The verb itself stays in the third person singular — it never agrees with the person, because the person is not the grammatical subject.
| I am bored on the bus. | Mér leiðist í strætó. |
The trap: not every state works this way
Being thirsty, full or frightened uses an ordinary nominative subject and an adjective that agrees with it:
| ég er þyrstur (man) / þyrst (woman) | I am thirsty |
| ég er saddur / södd | I am full |
| ég er hræddur / hrædd | I am afraid |
So: mér leiðist but ég er þyrstur. Learning which verb takes which case is vocabulary work — there is no rule that predicts it.
| I am thirsty and want the water. | Ég er þyrstur og vil vatnið. |
nenna — to be bothered
nenna takes an ordinary nominative subject and an infinitive: Ég nenni ekki að elda. It is one of the most Icelandic verbs there is — I can't be bothered.
| I can't be bothered to cook. | Ég nenni ekki að elda. |
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