Learn Icelandic: Lifi heiðursgesturinn! - Long live the guest of honor!

Lifi is the present subjunctive form of lifa (to live). You will often see the present subjunctive used on its own in a main clause to express a wish, a blessing, or an exhortation. Here, it translates to "May they live" or "Long live".

Why is the verb at the very beginning of the sentence instead of the subject?

In Icelandic, when you use a subjunctive verb to make a wish or a formal command, the verb usually comes first. It creates a formal or dramatic tone, much like the fixed English phrase "Long live the queen!" rather than "The queen long live!".

How do we break down the compound word heiðursgesturinn?

It is made of heiður (honor) and gestur (guest), joined by an -s which acts as a linker. Finally, the definite article -inn (the) is attached to the end. So it literally translates to "the honor's guest".

Why is heiðursgesturinn in the nominative case here?

Even though it comes after the verb, heiðursgesturinn is still the subject of the sentence—the person who is doing the living. Since subjects always take the nominative case, we use the basic dictionary form of the word with its nominative definite article.