Breakdown of Mig langar að fara í sundlaugina.
fara
to go
mig
me (acc)
langa
to want
að
to (infinitive marker)
Questions & Answers about Mig langar að fara í sundlaugina.
Why does this sentence start with Mig instead of Ég?
The verb langa (to want) is a special type of verb. It forces the person who wants something into the accusative case. Instead of saying 'I want', you are literally saying 'It longs me' (Mig langar).
Why do we use í to mean 'to' here, and why does it trigger the accusative?
The preposition í usually means 'in', but when you use it with a verb of motion like fara (to go), it means 'into' or 'to'. Because it describes active movement toward a destination, í forces the noun that comes after it into the accusative case.
How does the word sundlaugina break down?
The base noun is sundlaug (swimming pool). Because the preposition í forces it into the accusative case here, we add -ina to the end. This suffix is the attached word for 'the' (the definite article) for feminine nouns in the accusative case.