Breakdown of „Ég vil byggja,“ sagði hún og hrifsaði kubbinn.
og
and
ég
I
hún
she
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
byggja
to build
segja
to say
hrifsa
to snatch
kubburinn
the building block
Questions & Answers about „Ég vil byggja,“ sagði hún og hrifsaði kubbinn.
Why is the word order sagði hún instead of hún sagði here?
This is the main rule of direct speech quotation inversion! When a reporting clause comes directly after a quote, Icelandic applies the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire quote acts as the first element of the sentence, so the verb sagði must take the second slot, pushing the subject hún to the third slot.
Would the word order change if the reporting clause came before the quote?
Yes. If you put the reporting clause first, the subject takes the first position, so you use standard word order without inversion: Hún sagði: „Ég vil byggja,“ og hrifsaði kubbinn.
Why doesn't the second verb, hrifsaði, have a subject pronoun next to it?
Just like in English, you do not need to repeat the subject when two verbs are joined by og (and). Even though the subject hún is inverted and comes after sagði, it still serves as the active subject for the second action, hrifsaði (snatched).
What case is kubbinn in, and what triggered it?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb hrifsa (to snatch). The base word is the masculine noun kubbur (a block or cube). The accusative form is kubb, and adding the definite article makes it kubbinn (the block).
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