Breakdown of Það sem mótmælandinn vill er sjálfbærnin.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
sem
who / which / that
mótmælandinn
the protester
sjálfbærnin
the sustainability
Questions & Answers about Það sem mótmælandinn vill er sjálfbærnin.
Why do we use það sem instead of just hvað to mean "what" in this sentence?
Why does the sentence use the definite form sjálfbærnin instead of just sjálfbærni?
In Icelandic, abstract nouns like sjálfbærni (sustainability) usually take the definite article when you are talking about the concept as a whole or in a general sense. English leaves the article out in these cases, which can be tricky to remember.
Does the -andi ending in mótmælandinn mean it is a verb form?
It comes from the present participle of the verb mótmæla (to protest). However, many -andi words function as regular masculine nouns for people who do the action. Here, it is a noun with the definite article attached: mótmælandi + -nn.
Why is sjálfbærnin in the nominative case rather than taking a case from the verb vill?
The verb vill only controls the case of its own objects within the það sem clause. The main verb of the entire sentence is er (is). Because vera (to be) connects the two halves like an equal sign, the subject phrase and the concept sjálfbærnin are both in the nominative case.
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