Breakdown of Mig langar að prófa sviffluguna á morgun.
ég
I
langa
to want
að
to (infinitive marker)
á morgun
tomorrow
prófa
to try
svifflugan
the glider
Questions & Answers about Mig langar að prófa sviffluguna á morgun.
Why is it Mig langar instead of Ég langa?
The verb langa (to want or long for) is an impersonal verb. This means the person who wants something is not the subject doing the action, but rather the object experiencing the feeling. It always takes the accusative case, so ég becomes mig, and the verb stays in the third-person singular.
How would I change this to say 'I would like to test the glider tomorrow' using the past subjunctive?
You would change langar to its past subjunctive form, langaði, making the sentence Mig langaði að prófa sviffluguna á morgun. For weak verbs like langa, the past subjunctive is exactly the same as the past indicative. The context of the future phrase á morgun tells us it means 'would like' rather than 'wanted'.
Why is sviffluguna in the accusative case here?
It is the direct object of the verb að prófa (to test). Since sviffluga (glider) is a feminine noun, adding the definite article in the accusative case gives us sviffluguna.
What is the literal translation of sviffluga?
It is a compound word made of svif (gliding or hovering) and fluga (a fly or insect). In modern Icelandic, fluga is often used playfully or descriptively in aviation terms, making a 'gliding fly' the word for a glider!
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