Oblique Subjects After Modals

Level 6

Henni hlýtur að líða vel. (She must be feeling fine.) Mig er farið að langa heim. (I am starting to long for home.)

How It Works

The last verb decides the case. líða takes a dative subject: Henni líður vel (She feels fine). Put hljóta að in front, and the subject stays dative:

  • Henni hlýtur að líða vel. (She must be feeling fine.)
  • Mér hlýtur að hafa misheyrst. (I must have misheard.)

Verbs that let the case through.

  • hljóta að (must): Henni hlýtur að líða vel.
  • fara að (start to): Okkur fer að vanta mjólk. (We will soon need milk.)
  • virðast (seem): Honum virðist líka vel í nýju vinnunni. (He seems to like the new job.)
  • geta (can): Barninu getur orðið kalt. (The child can get cold.)

The first verb does not agree. With an oblique subject, the first verb stays in the third person singular: Okkur hlýtur að líða vel, not hljótum. With fara að in the perfect, the participle is neuter: Mig er farið að langa heim.

Keep the right oblique case. langa and vanta take the accusative: Mig hlýtur að langa, Mig fer að vanta. Using the dative with these verbs is þágufallssýki, which standard Icelandic treats as incorrect.

Verbs that choose their own subject. Verbs like vilja, reyna að and vonast til að are different: their own subject is always nominative, whatever verb follows. Hún vonast til að líða betur (She hopes to feel better) starts with hún, even though líða alone would take henni. More verbs with oblique subjects are in mér leiðist/mig minnir.

Examples (6)

  1. Henni hlýtur að líða vel.

    She must be feeling fine.

    Word by Word: Her(DAT) must to feel well.

    líða takes a dative subject, and hljóta að keeps it.

  2. Mig er farið að langa heim.

    I am starting to long for home.

    Word by Word: Me(ACC) is gone to long home.

    langa takes an accusative subject; farið stays neuter.

  3. Okkur fer að vanta mjólk.

    We will soon be out of milk.

    Word by Word: Us(ACC) goes to lack milk.

  4. Honum virðist líka vel í nýju vinnunni.

    He seems to like his new job.

    Word by Word: Him(DAT) seems to like well in the-new work.

  5. Mér hlýtur að hafa misheyrst.

    I must have misheard.

    Word by Word: Me(DAT) must to have misheard.

  6. Barninu getur orðið kalt.

    The child can get cold.

    Word by Word: The-child(DAT) can become cold.

Common Mistakes

  • Changing the subject to the nominative after hljóta að.

    Hún hlýtur að líða vel.
    Henni hlýtur að líða vel.

    líða needs a dative subject, and hljóta að does not change that.

  • Making fara að agree with an oblique subject.

    Ég er farinn að langa heim.
    Mig er farið að langa heim.

    langa needs an accusative subject, so fara stays in the neutral form: er farið.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Oblique Subjects After ModalsLevel 6

Learn This First

Oblique subjects after modals build on oblique subjects and hljóta að.

Words in This Pattern

hljótavirðastgetaað