Breakdown of Ég vil frekar hengja upp þvottinn heldur en að nota þurrkarann.
ég
I
að
to (infinitive marker)
nota
to use
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
þvotturinn
the laundry
frekar
rather
þurrkarinn
the dryer
hengja upp
to hang up
heldur en
rather than
Questions & Answers about Ég vil frekar hengja upp þvottinn heldur en að nota þurrkarann.
Why do we need að before nota here, but not before hengja earlier in the sentence?
The first verb, hengja, comes directly after vil (from vilja). Modal verbs like vilja take a bare infinitive (no að). However, the second verb, nota, comes after heldur en. When comparing two actions using heldur en, the second verb requires the infinitive marker að.
The sentence uses both frekar and heldur. Isn't that like saying 'rather' twice?
Yes, literally it reads 'I want rather... rather than...'. In English, this feels redundant, but in Icelandic, pairing frekar (prefer/rather) in the main clause with the full compound heldur en (rather than) is standard and sounds very natural. You can also just say en instead of heldur en, but using the full phrase emphasizes the contrast.
Why is the verb hengja used here instead of hanga for 'to hang'?
Hengja is the transitive version, meaning 'to hang [something] up' (it takes a direct object, which is þvottinn here). Hanga is intransitive and describes the state of something hanging (e.g., the clothes are hanging on the line). Because you are actively doing the action to the laundry, you must use hengja.
What cases are þvottinn and þurrkarann in, and why?
They are both in the accusative case, with the definite article attached (þvottur becomes þvottinn and þurrkari becomes þurrkarann). They are the direct objects of their verbs, hengja and nota, both of which take the accusative.
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