Breakdown of Mig langar ekki að fara á klúbbinn nema röðin sé stutt.
vera
to be
ég
I
ekki
not
fara
to go
langa
to want
að
to (infinitive marker)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
stuttur
short
nema
except, unless
klúbburinn
the club (social, nightclub)
röðin
the queue
Questions & Answers about Mig langar ekki að fara á klúbbinn nema röðin sé stutt.
Why do we use sé instead of er here?
The word nema meaning unless triggers the subjunctive mood. Because of this rule, we must use sé, which is the present subjunctive form of the verb vera (to be) for a third-person subject. Using the normal indicative form er would be incorrect here.
Why does the sentence start with Mig rather than Ég?
The verb langa (to want) is an impersonal verb that forces its subject into the accusative case. Instead of saying I want, Icelandic grammar essentially says it longs me, which is why you must use the accusative mig instead of the nominative ég.
Why is the word for club in the accusative case (klúbbinn) after the preposition á?
The preposition á takes the accusative case when it describes movement towards a destination, like going to the club. If you were already at the club and just hanging out there, it would take the dative case to show a fixed location.
Why is the adjective for short spelled stutt in this sentence?
Adjectives must match the gender, number, and case of the noun they describe. The noun here is röðin (the queue), which is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case. Therefore, the base masculine adjective stuttur changes to stutt to match it perfectly.
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