Breakdown of Mig vantar peninginn strax.
mig
me (acc)
strax
right away
vanta
to need (to lack)
peningurinn
the money
Questions & Answers about Mig vantar peninginn strax.
Why does the sentence start with Mig (me) instead of Ég (I)?
In Icelandic, the verb vanta (to need or lack) is an impersonal verb. Instead of the person doing the action in the nominative case, the person experiencing the need is put in the accusative case. So you say Mig vantar (literally 'needs me') instead of Ég vantar.
Why is peninginn (the money) also in the accusative case?
The verb vanta is special because it is a double accusative verb. This means both the person who needs something (mig) and the thing that is needed (peninginn) must be in the accusative case.
Why does peninginn end in -inn?
The base word for money is peningur, which is a masculine noun. We need to say 'the money', so we add the definite article. In the accusative case, peningur drops the -ur to become pening, and we attach the masculine accusative definite ending -inn to get peninginn.
Would the verb form change if I wanted to say 'we need' instead of 'I need'?
No, it stays exactly the same! Because vanta is an impersonal verb, it is always used in the third-person singular form (vantar) regardless of who needs the item. You only change the pronoun, so 'we need' is Okkur vantar.
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