Icelandic Verbs

If you're trying to learn Icelandic Verbs you will find some useful resources including a course about Verbs in the present past and future tense... to help you with your Icelandic grammar. Try to concentrate on the lesson and notice the pattern that occurs each time the word changes its place. Also don't forget to check the rest of our other lessons listed on Learn Icelandic. Enjoy the rest of the lesson!

Icelandic Verbs

Learning the Icelandic Verbs displayed below is vital to the language. Icelandic verbs are words that convey action (bring, read, walk, run), or a state of being (exist, stand). In most languages a verb may agree with the person, gender, and/or number of some of its arguments, such as its subject, or object.

Grammar Tips:

Icelandic verbs are strong or weak and have:

six tenses (present, preterite, perfect, pluperfect, future, future perfect)

three voices (active, middle, passive)

six moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative, present participle, past participle, infinitive).

The basic form of the Icelandic verb is the infinitive. This is the form given in dictionaries. It almost always ends in an -a, and is commonly preceded by the small word (to). Að hafa (to have), að gefa (to give).

Let's now conjugate a present verb in both indicative and subjunctive:

Indicative:                                       Subjunctive:

Ég tek            I take                          Ég taki

þú tekur         you take                    þú takir

hann tekur    he takes                    hann taki

við tökum      we take                      við tökum

þið takið         you take                    þið takið

þeir taka        they take                   þeir taki

And now the past tense, using a different verb:

Indicative:                                       Subjunctive:

Ég sagði        I said                          Ég segði

þú sagðir       you said                    þú segðir

hann sagði   he said                      hann segði

við sögðum   we said                      við segðum

þið sögðuð    you said                    þið segðuð

þeir sögðu     they said                   þeir segðu

Notes:

The subjunctive commonly has an -i- in its endings. It is used in dependent clauses.

First and second person plurals always have the same endings. (-um and )

Strong verbs form the past by changing their root vowels. Compare ég tek (I take) with ég tók (I took).

Weak verbs add a special suffix to their stem, either a -t- or a -ð- (as in sag-ð-i above)

The future is either identical to the present or formed with the auxiliary verb munu. Ég mun fara (I will go), þú munt koma (you will come).

The future perfect is made with two auxiliary verbs. Ég mun hafa gert (I will have done). This is not common.

The past participle declines like a noun or adjectve. The masculine, feminine and neuter forms of the verbs gefa (give) and taka (take) are as follows:

Gefinn - gefin - gefið and tekinn - tekin - tekið.

The neuter form (gefið - tekið) along with the verb to have (hafa) is used to form the perfect and pluperfect tenses. Ex. Hann hefur tekið (he has taken), hún hafði farið (she had gone).

The present participle can easily be identified by its ending -andi. Gefandi (giving), takandi (taking). It does not decline.

The imperative has a singular and a plural form. The singular is most commonly formed by appending the pronoun þú (you) to the verb stem. The pronoun assimilates to make forms like farðu (go!) komdu (come!).

The plural imperative is identical to the present, e.g. takið (take!) komið (come!).

The passive is formed using the past participle and the verb 'to be' as an auxiliary.

Það var tekið (it was taken) bréfið er skrifað (the letter is written).

The middle voice can be recognized by its suffix -st. It is commonly used when the subject and the object are the same one. Við berjumst (we fight, i.e. we beat and are beaten). Ég klæðist (I put on clothes, i.e. I dress myself).


Here are some examples:

English VerbsIcelandic Verbs
VerbsSagnir
Pastþátíð
I spokeÉg ræddi
I wroteÉg skrifaði
I droveég ók
I lovedÉg elskaði
I gaveÉg gaf
I smiledÉg brosti
I tookÉg tók
he spokehann talaði
he wroteHann skrifaði
he drovehann ók
he lovedhann elskaði
he gaveHann gaf
he smiledHann brosti
he tookHann tók
we spokevið töluðum
we wrotevið skrifuðum
we droveVið keyrðum
we lovedvið elskuðum
we gavevið gáfum
we smiledvið brostum
we tookvið tókum
Futureframtíð
I will speakÉg mun tala
I will writeÉg mun skrifa
I will driveég mun aka
I will loveÉg mun elska
I will giveÉg mun gefa
I will smileÉg mun brosa
I will takeég mun taka
he will speakhann mun tala
he will writehann mun skrifa
he will drivehann mun aka
he will lovehann mun elska
he will givehann mun gefa
he will smilehann mun brosa
he will takeHann mun taka
we will speakVið munum tala
we will writevið munum skrifa
we will driveVið munum keyra
we will loveVið munum elska
we will giveVið munum gefa
we will smilevið munum brosa
we will takevið munum taka
Presentnútíð
I speakÉg tala
I writeÉg skrifa
I driveég ek
I loveÉg elska
I giveÉg gef
I smileÉg brosi
I takeÉg tek
he speaksHann talar
he writesHann skrifar
he driveshann ekur
he lovesHann elskar
he givesHann gefur
he smilesHann brosir
he takesHann tekur
we speakvið tölum
we writevið skrifum
we drivevið keyrum
we lovevið elskum
we givevið gefum
we smilevið brosum
we takevið tökum

Notice the structure of the Verbs in Icelandic.

List of Verbs in Icelandic

Below is a list of the conjugated Verbs in the present past and future in Icelandic placed in a table. Memorizing this table will help you add very useful and important words to your Icelandic vocabulary.

English VerbsIcelandic Verbs
I can accept thatÉg get samþykkt að
she added ithún bætti við
we admit itvið viðurkennum að
they advised himþeir ráðlögðu honum
I can agree with thatég get verið sammála því
she allows ithún leyfir það
we announce itvið tilkynnum það
I can apologizeég get beðið afsökunar
she appears todayhún virðist í dag
they arranged thatþeir komu í kring
I can arrive tomorrowÉg get komið á morgun
she can ask himhún getur spurt hann
she attaches thathún telur að
we attack themvið gerum árás á þá
they avoid herþeir forðast hana
I can bake itÉg get bakað það
she is like himHún er eins og hann
we beat itvið sláum það
they became happyþeir/þær/þau urðu hamingjusamir
I can begin thatég get byrjað á því
we borrowed moneyvið fengum lánaðan pening
they breathe airþeir anda að sér lofti
I can bring itég get komið með það
I can build thatég get byggt það
she buys foodhún kaupir mat
we calculate itvið reiknum það út
they carry itþeir bera það
they don't cheatþeir svindla ekki
she chooses himhún kýs hann
we close itvið lokum því
he comes herehann kemur hingað
I can compare thatég get borið það saman
she competes with mehún keppir við mig
we complain about itvið kvörtum yfir því
they continued readingþeir héldu áfram að lesa
he cried about thathann grét vegna þess
I can decide nowÉg get ákveðið núna
she described it to mehún lýsti því fyrir mér
we disagree about itvið erum ósammála um það
they disappeared quicklyþeir hurfu hratt
I discovered thatÉg uppgötvaði að
she dislikes thathenni mislíkar það
we do itvið gerum það
they dream about itþá dreymir um það
I earnedég þénaði
he eats a lothann etur mikið
we enjoyed thatvið nutum þess
they entered hereþeir komu inn hérna
he escaped thathann slapp frá þessu
I can explain thatÉg get útskýrt það
she feels that toohenni finnst það líka
we fled from therevið flúðum héðan
they will fly tomorrowþeir munu fljúga á morgun
I can follow youég get elt þig
she forgot mehún gleymdi mér
we forgive himvið fyrirgáfum honum
I can give her thatég get gefið henni það
she goes therehún fer þangað
we greeted themvið heilsuðum þeim
I hate thatég hata það
I can hear itég get heyrt í því
she imagine thathún ímyndar sér það
we invited themvið buðum þeim
I know himÉg þekki hann
she learned ithún lærði það
we leave nowvið förum núna
they lied about himþeir/þær/þau lugu um hann
I can listen to thatÉg get hlustað á það
she lost thathún missti það
we made it yesterdayVið gerðum það í gær
they met himþau kynntust honum
I misspell thatég stafa þetta vitlaust
I always prayég bið alltaf
she prefers thathún kýs frekar
we protected themvið vernduðum þá
they will punish herÞeir munu refsa henni
I can put it thereÉg get sett það þar
she will read itHún mun lesa það
we received thatvið fengum þetta
they refuse to talkþeir neita að tala
I remember thatÉg man að
she repeats thatHún endurtekur að
we see itvið sjáum það
they sell itþeir selja það
I sent that yesterdayég sendi þetta í gær
he shaved his beardhann rakaði af sér skeggið
it shrunk quicklyþað minnkað hratt
we will sing itVið munum syngja það
they sat thereþeir sátu þarna
I can speak itÉg get talað það
she spends moneyhún eyðir peningum
we suffered from thatvið þjáðumst af þessu
they suggest thatþeir stinga upp á þessu
I surprised himég kom honum á óvart
she took thathún tók þetta
we teach itVið kennum það
they told usþeir sögðu okkur
she thanked himHún þakkaði honum
I can think about itég get hugsað um það
she threw ithún kastaði því
we understand thatvið skiljum það
they want thatþeir vilja það
I can wear itég get gengið í því
she writes thathún skrifaði það
we talk about itVið tölum um það
they have itþeir hafa það
I watched itÉg horfði á það
I will talk about itÉg mun tala um það
he bought that yesterdayhann keypti þetta í gær
we finished itvið lukum við það

Verbs in the present past and future tense have a very important role in Icelandic. Once you're done with Icelandic Verbs, you might want to check the rest of our Icelandic lessons here: Learn Icelandic. Don't forget to bookmark this page.

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