Verb Before Negation in Subordinate Clauses: ekki

The Verb Before Ekki in Subordinate Clauses

Level 2

In a subordinate clause, the verb still comes before ekki: Ég veit að hann kemur ekki (I know he isn't coming).

How It Works

The order. connecting word + subject + finite verb + ekki:

  • Ég veit að hann kemur ekki (I know he isn't coming)
  • Ég er heima af því að ég hef ekki tíma (I'm at home because I don't have time)
  • Hringdu ef þú kemst ekki (Call if you can't make it)

Other small words. Frequency words behave like ekki (alltaf/oft/aldrei): Ég veit að hún drekkur aldrei kaffi.

Pronoun objects. A short pronoun object still goes in front of ekki, as in a main clause (object shift): Ég sé að þú skilur þetta ekki.

No inversion. In a main clause, the verb must come second (verb-second word order), so the subject moves after it: Í dag kem ég ekki. In a subordinate clause, the subject normally comes straight after the connecting word and before the verb: af því að ég hef, not af því að hef ég. When a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause that follows starts with its verb: Þegar ég er ekki í vinnunni les ég mikið.

Relative clauses. After sem, you will also see ekki before the verb, especially in writing: maður sem ekki talar íslensku (a man who doesn't speak Icelandic). maður sem talar ekki íslensku is just as correct. In að-clauses and after af því að, ef and þegar, keep the verb before ekki.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég veit að hann kemur ekki.

    I know he isn't coming.

    Word by Word: I know that he comes not.

  2. Ég er heima af því að ég hef ekki tíma.

    I'm at home because I don't have time.

    Word by Word: I am at-home because I have not time.

  3. Ég veit að hún drekkur aldrei kaffi.

    I know she never drinks coffee.

    Word by Word: I know that she drinks never coffee.

  4. Hringdu ef þú kemst ekki.

    Call if you can't make it.

    Word by Word: Call-you if you get-there not.

  5. Þegar ég er ekki í vinnunni les ég mikið.

    When I'm not at work, I read a lot.

    Word by Word: When I am not at the-work read I much.

    The main clause comes second, so it starts with its verb: les ég.

  6. Ég sé að þú skilur þetta ekki.

    I see that you don't understand this.

    Word by Word: I see that you understand this not.

    The pronoun þetta goes in front of ekki.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting ekki before the verb, as in Danish or Swedish.

    Ég veit að hann ekki kemur.
    Ég veit að hann kemur ekki.

    In everyday Icelandic, the verb comes before ekki in an að-clause too. The other order sounds old-fashioned or foreign.

  • Moving the verb in front of the subject after af því að.

    Ég er heima af því að hef ég ekki tíma.
    Ég er heima af því að ég hef ekki tíma.

    After af því að, the subject comes first and then the verb: af því að ég hef. Here there is nothing at the front of the clause that would make the verb move before the subject.

How It Connects

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

Verb Before Negation in Subordinate Clauses: ekkiLevel 2The Verb Before Ekki in Subordinate Clauses

Learn This First

Subordinate word order builds on ekki and af því að.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

ekkiaðaf því aðefþegaraldrei