Word
Hún vill ekki bíða lengi.
Meaning
She doesn't want to wait long.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Hún vill ekki bíða lengi.
The lesson mentions using að with modal verbs. Why is there no að before bíða here?
While many helper verbs like þurfa (to need) use að before the next verb (e.g., hún þarf að bíða), the verb vilja (to want) is a major exception. It takes a bare infinitive. So you just say hún vill bíða, completely dropping the að.
Why does ekki go in the middle of the two verbs?
In Icelandic, the negative word ekki (not) usually steps right in after the conjugated verb. So the verb matching the subject (vill) comes first, followed directly by ekki, and the infinitive bíða gets pushed further down the sentence.
Is vill a regular conjugation of vilja?
No, vilja is a very irregular verb. For the third-person singular (hann, hún, það), it becomes vill. Notice that the 'a' from the end of the infinitive is dropped entirely.
Can I use the word langt to mean 'long' in this sentence?
No, because Icelandic has different words for 'long' depending on context. You must use lengi when talking about a long amount of time (like waiting). You would use langt when talking about a long physical distance.