To express needs and desires, Icelandic uses the modal verbs þurfa (to need) and vilja (to want). They both conjugate a bit differently from regular verbs.
| Pronoun | vilja (to want) | þurfa (to need) |
|---|
| ég | vil | þarf |
| þú | vilt | þarft |
| hann/hún/það | vill | þarf |
| við | viljum | þurfum |
| þið | viljið | þurfið |
| þeir/þær/þau | vilja | þurfa |
Wanting to do something (vilja)
To express a desire, use a conjugated form of vilja. Unlike most other verbs in Icelandic, when you pair vilja with an action, you do not use the word að (to). You simply follow it with the bare infinitive verb.
To make the sentence negative, place ekki (not) immediately after the conjugated verb.
Needing to do something (þurfa)
To express a necessity, use a conjugated form of þurfa. Unlike expressing a desire, when you combine þurfa with an action, you must include að before the infinitive verb.
Asking questions
To ask a question, invert the subject and the modal verb so the verb comes first. Question words like hvað (what) will still sit at the very front of the sentence.
If your question uses þurfa, remember that að stays right next to the infinitive action verb, even when the modal verb moves to the front.