Breakdown of Í neyðartilviki skulu allir rýma bygginguna samstundis.
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
allur
all / everything / everyone
byggingin
the building
rýma
to evacuate
skulu
to shall / to promise to
neyðartilvikið
the emergency
samstundis
immediately
Questions & Answers about Í neyðartilviki skulu allir rýma bygginguna samstundis.
How does skulu function as a command in this sentence?
In formal rules, instructions, or laws, Icelandic uses the modal verb skulu (shall/must) followed directly by a bare infinitive. In this case, it pairs with rýma (to evacuate) without the infinitive particle að. It creates a strict, impersonal command, which is exactly why you see it on emergency signs or in legal documents rather than in casual conversation.
Why is the verb skulu placed before the subject allir?
Why do we use the form skulu here instead of skal?
What case is neyðartilviki, and why?
It is in the dative case, governed by the preposition í. The word is a compound of neyð (emergency/distress) and tilvik (case/instance). When í refers to being in an abstract situation or state (like in a case of emergency), it requires the dative case.
Why does the adverb samstundis end in an -s?
The -s ending is a historical remnant of the genitive case being used to form adverbs of time or manner, similar to how English uses an -s in words like sometimes or always. Here, it turns the concept of the same moment into the adverb immediately.
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