Breakdown of Mig vantar sandpappírinn til að slípa vegginn.
mig
me (acc)
að
to (infinitive marker)
veggurinn
the wall
til
to
vanta
to need (to lack)
sandpappírinn
the sandpaper (m)
slípa
to sand
Questions & Answers about Mig vantar sandpappírinn til að slípa vegginn.
Why is Mig in the accusative case here instead of the nominative Ég?
The verb vantar (from vanta, meaning to lack or need) is an impersonal verb. It requires the person experiencing the need to be in the accusative case, so we use mig instead of ég.
What case is sandpappírinn in, and what governs it?
It is in the accusative case. The verb vanta is a double-accusative verb, meaning both the person needing the item (mig) and the item being needed (sandpappírinn) must take the accusative case.
Where does the lesson topic of vera búinn með fit into a scenario like this?
This sentence sets up the need for a consumable item. Once the task is complete, you would use the lesson's target structure to say Ég er búinn með sandpappírinn (I am finished with the sandpaper), where the preposition með requires the accusative case for the consumable.
Could I just say að slípa instead of til að slípa to mean 'to sand'?
Not in this context, because you are expressing purpose. While English uses a simple 'to sand', Icelandic requires til að (in order to) followed by the infinitive verb when explaining what an object is going to be used for.
Why does the word for 'the wall' change to vegginn here?
It is the direct object of the verb slípa (to sand). Since the wall is directly receiving the action, the masculine nominative definite noun veggurinn changes to its accusative form vegginn.
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