Questions & Answers about Ég finn ekki lykilinn.
Why is "the key" translated as lykilinn here instead of lykillinn?
Because it is the direct object being found, it must be in the accusative case. The base dictionary word for "a key" is lykill. In the accusative case, it drops an L to become lykil. To say "the key", we add the masculine definite ending -inn to that accusative form, giving us lykilinn.
The English translation says "I can't find", but isn't ég finn ekki literally just "I find not"?
Exactly! In English, we usually add "can't" when talking about finding things. In Icelandic, you don't need a helping verb for "can" here. Simply saying Ég finn ekki... (literally "I find not...") is the most natural way to say "I can't find...".
Why does ekki come before lykilinn?
In a basic Icelandic sentence, the negation word ekki (not) usually goes directly after the verb and before the object. So, the strict word order is "I find not the key."