Breakdown of Ég myndi bíða eftir sjóræningjanum.
ég
I
bíða
to wait
eftir
after / for (waiting for)
sjóræninginn
the pirate
Questions & Answers about Ég myndi bíða eftir sjóræningjanum.
Why do we use myndi here, and what form is bíða in?
Myndi is the conditional form of the auxiliary verb meaning "would" for the pronoun ég (I). When using a conditional auxiliary like this, it is always followed by the infinitive (dictionary) form of the main verb. That is why we use bíða (to wait) without conjugating it.
Why does the word for pirate end in -num?
The phrase "to wait for" is bíða eftir, and the preposition eftir requires the noun that follows it to be in the dative case. The base word is sjóræningi (pirate). In the dative case with the definite article ("the"), it becomes sjóræningjanum.
What happens to the spelling of sjóræningi when we add that ending?
When applying the dative definite ending to a weak masculine noun ending in -i like sjóræningi, the i changes to an a. Because of a common Icelandic spelling rule, a j is inserted before the a, giving us sjóræningjanum.
If the subject was við (we) instead of ég, how would the sentence change?
The auxiliary verb changes to match the subject, but the infinitive bíða stays exactly the same. For við, the conditional form is myndum, so the sentence would become: Við myndum bíða eftir sjóræningjanum.