1. Phonology

1.1. Front mutation

1.1.2. u-mutation

u-mutation occurs in all parts of speech where the stem has a short ‘a’, and in some cases where the stem has a short ‘e’.

stressed syllables
a	-	ö
e	-	ø
unstressed syllables
a	-	u

1.1.2. i-mutation

i-mutation occurs in the present singular of all strong verbs; the subjunctive plural of strong verbs; the subjunctive and present indicative of a great many weak verbs; and in some nouns and other parts of speech. In i-mutation, the stem vowel changes subject to and i or j in the stem, or for historical reasons. The changes are as follows:

a	-	e
á	-	æ
o	-	ø
ó	-	œ
u	-	y
ú	-	y
au	-	ey
jú	-	y
ö	-	ø

2. Morphology

2.1. Nouns

Most nouns follow the following patterns of inflexion (based on MB 3.1.4). ‘---’ represents the stem; ‘-#-’ represents the stem subject to u-mutation; ‘-*-’ represents the stem subject to i-mutation.

		masc.		fem.		neut.
		strong	weak	strong	weak	strong	weak
sing.	N	---r	---i	-#- ---	---a	--- ---i	---a
	A	---	---a	-#- ---	-#-u	--- ---i	---a
	G	---s ---ar	---a	---ar	-#-u	--- ---is	---a
	D	--- ---i	---a	-#- ---	-#-u	---i	---a
pl.	N	---ar ---ir	---ar	---ar ---ir -*-r	-#-ur	-#-	-#-u
	A	---a ---i -*-u	---a	---ar ---ir -*-r	-#-ur	-#-	-#-u
	G	---a	---a	---a	---na	---a	---na
	D	-#-um	-#-um	-#-um	-#-um	-#-um	-#-um

2.1.1. Strong declensions

2.1.1.1. Masculine

2.1.1.1.1. gen. sing. -s; nom. pl. -ar/-jar

		nom. pl. -ar				nom. pl. -jar
sing.	N A G D	hestr hest hests hesti	jökull jökul jökuls jökli	jötunn jötun jötuns jötni	ketill ketil ketils katli	nidhr nidh nidhs nidh
pl.	N A G D	hestar hesta hesta hestum	jöklar jökla jökla jöklum	jötnar jötna jötna jötnum	katlar katla katla kötlum	nidhjar nidhja nidhja nidhjum
		horse	glacier	giant	kettle	kinsman

2.1.1.1.2. gen. sing. -ar; nom. pl. -ir

		no i-mutation	i-mutation
sing.	N A G D	hlutr hlut hlutar hlut	skjöldr skjöld skjaldar skildi	örn örn arnar erni
pl.	N A G D	hlutir hluti hluta hlutum	skildir skjöldu skjalda skjöldum	ernir örnu, erni arna önum
		thing	shield	eagle

2.1.1.1.3. Other forms

		gen. sing. -ar, nom. pl. -ar	gen. sing. -ar nom. pl. -r		madhr
sing.	N A G D	sær, sjór sæ, sjó sævar, sjóvar sæ(vi), sjó(vi)	fótr fót fótar fœti	fadhir födhur födhur födhur, fedhr	madhr mann manns manni
pl.	N A G D	sævar, sjóvar sæva, sjóva sæva, sjóva sæ(v)um, sjóvum	fœtr fœtr fóta fótum	fedhr fedhr fedhra fedhrum	menn menn manna mönnum
		sea	foot	father	man

2.1.1.2. Feminine

2.1.1.2.1. -ar in pl.

		dat. sg. -	dat. sg. -u
sing.	N A G D	mold mold moldar mold	kerling kerling kerlingar kerlingu
pl.	N A G D	moldar moldar molda moldum	kerlingar kerlingar kerlinga kerlingum
		earth	old woman

2.1.1.2.2. -jar in pl.

sing.	N A G D	ey ey eyjar ey(ju)
pl.	N A G D	eyjar eyjar eyja eyjum
		island

2.1.1.2.3. -ir in pl.

sing.	N A G D	leidh leidh leidhar leidh	unnr unn unnar unn	brúdhr brúdhi brúdhar brúdh
pl.	N A G D	leidhir leidhir leidha leidhum	unnir unnir unna unnum	brúdhir brúdhir brúdha brúdhum
		way	wave	bride

2.1.1.2.4. -r in plural

sing.	N A G D	kyr kú kyr kú	bók bók bókar bók	nátt, nótt nátt, nótt náttar nátt, nótt
pl.	N A G D	kyr kyr kúa kúm	bœkr bœkr bóka bókum	nætr nætr nátta náttum, nóttum
		cow	book	night

2.1.1.2.5. Irregular forms

This declension also applies to masculine nouns for family members.

sing.	N A G D	dóttir dóttur dóttur dóttur
pl.	N A G D	dœttur dœttur dœttra dœttrum
		daughter

2.1.1.3. Neuter

2.1.1.3.1. Regular

Note the u-mutation in the pl. nominative and accusative.

		gen. pl. -a			gen. pl. -ja
sing.	N A G D	barn barn barns barni	fé fé fás fé	erfidhi erfidhi erfidhis erfidhi	kyn kyn kyns kyni
pl.	N A G D	börn börn barna börnum	fé fá fjá fjám	erfidhi erfidhi erfidha erfidhum	kyn kyn kynja kynjum
		child	money, cattle	trouble	kin

2.1.2. Weak declensions

2.1.2.1. Masculine

		nom. pl. -ar	nom. pl. -r
sing.	N A G D	bogi boga boga boga	gefandi gefanda gefanda gefanda
pl.	N A G D	bogar boga boga bogum	gefendr gefendr gefanda geföndum
		bow	(gefa)

2.1.2.2. Feminine

2.1.2.2.1. gen. sing. -u, nom. pl. -ur

sing.	N A G D	saga sögu sögu sögu	kona konu konu konu
pl.	N A G D	sögur sögur sagna sögum	konur konur kvenna konum
		story	woman

2.1.2.2.2. gen. sing. -i, nom. pl. -ar/ir

2.1.2.3. Neuter

2.1.2.3.1. Regular

sing.	N A G D	hjarta hjarta hjarta hjarta
pl.	N A G D	hjörtu hjörtu hjartna hjörtum
		heart

2.2. Adjectives

The weak form was used after the article or a demonstrative pronoun.

2.2.1. Strong form

2.2.1.1. in -r

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	ríkr ríkan ríks ríkum	rík ríka ríkrar ríkri	ríkt ríkt ríks ríku
pl.	N A G D	ríkir ríka ríkra ríkum	ríkar ríkar ríkra ríkum	rík rík ríkra ríkum

2.2.1.2. in -ll

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	gamall gamlan gamals gömlum	gömul gamla gamallar gamalli	gamalt gamalt gamals gömlu
pl.	N A G D	gamlir gamla gamalla gömlum	gamlar gamlar gamalla gömlum	göul gömul gamalla gömlum

2.2.1.3. annarr

Annarr is always strong.

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	annarr annan annars ödhrum	önnur adhra annarrar annarri	annat annat annars ödhru
pl.	N A G D	adhrir adhra annarra ödhrum	adhrar adhrar annarra ödhrum	önnur önnur annarra ödhrum

2.2.2. Weak form

2.2.2.1. Normal

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N AGD	ríki ríka	ríka ríku	ríka ríka
pl.	NAG D	ríku ríkum	ríku ríkum	ríku ríkum

2.2.2.2. Comparatives and present participles

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N AGD	verri verra	verri verri	verra verra
pl.	NAG D	verri verrum	verri verrum	verri verrum

2.2.3. Numbers

2.2.3.1. einn

The pl. form of einn had the sense ‘some’.

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	einn einn eins einum	ein eina einnar einni	eitt eitt eins einu
pl.	N A G D	einir eina einna einum	einar einar einna einum	ein ein einna einum

2.2.3.2. tveir

	masc.	fem.	neut.
N A G D	tveir tvá tveggja tveim	tvær tvær tveggja tveim	tvau tvau tveggja tveim

2.2.3.3. thrír

	masc.	fem.	neut.
N A G D	thrír thrjá thriggja thrim	thrjár thrjár thriggja thrim	thrjú thrjú thriggja thrim

2.2.3.4. fjórir

	masc.	fem.	neut.
N A G D	fjórir fjóra fjoggura fjórum	fjórar fjórar fjoggura fjórum	fjogur fjogur fjoggura fjórum

2.2.3.5. bádhir

	masc.	fem.	neut.
N A G D	bádhir bádha beggja bádhum	bádhar bádhar beggja bádhum	bædhi bædhi beggja bádhum

2.3. Pronouns and determiners

2.3.1. First person

	sing.	dual	pl.
N A G D	ek mik mín mér	vit okkr okkar okkr	vér oss vár oss

2.3.2. Second person

	sing.	dual	pl.
N A G D	thú thik thín thér	(th)it ykkr ykkar ykkr	(th)ér ydhr ydhar ydhr

2.3.3. Third person

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	hann hann hans honum	hon (hún) hana hennar henni	that that thess thví, thí
pl.	N A G D	their thá their(r)a theim	thær thær their(r)a theim	thau thau their(r)a theim

2.3.4. Possessive

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	minn minn mín mínum	mín mína minnar minni	mitt mitt míns mínu
pl.	N A G D	mínir mína minna mínum	mínar mínar minna mínum	mín mín minna mínum

2.3.5. Definite article

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	inn inn ins inum	in ina innar inni	it it ins inu
pl.	N A G D	inir ina inna inum	inar inar inna inum	in in inna inum

2.3.6. sá (that)

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	sá thann thess theim	sú thá their(r)ar their(r)i	that that thess th(v)í
pl.	N A G D	their thá their(r)a theim	thær thær their(r)a theim	thau thau their(r)a theim

2.3.7. thessi (this)

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	thessi thenna thessa thessum	thessi thessa thessar thessi	thetta thetta thessa thessu
pl.	N A G D	thessir thessa thessa thessum	thessar thessar thessa thessum	thessi thessi thessa thessum

2.3.8. nökkurr (some, any)

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	nakkvarr, nökkurr nakkvarn, nökkurn nakkvars, nökkurs nökkurum	nökkur nakkvara, nökkura nakkvarrar, nökkurrar nakkvarri, nökkurri	nakkvat, nökkut nakkvat, nökkut nakkvars, nökkurs nökkuru
pl.	N A G D	nakkvarir, nökkurir nakkvara, nökkura nakkvarra, nökkurra nökkurum	nakkvarar, nökkurar nakkvarar, nökkurar nakkvarra, nökkurra nökkurum	nökkur nökkur nakkvarra, nökkurra nökkurum

2.3.9. hverr (who, what)

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	hverr hvern hvess hveim	hver hverja hverrar hverri	hvat hvat hvess hví
pl.	N A G D	hverir hverja hverra hverjum	hverjar hverjar hverra hverjum	hver hver hverra hverjum

2.3.10. engi (none, no)

		masc.	fem.	neut.
sing.	N A G D	engi engan, engi engis, enskis engum	engi enga engrar engri	ekki ekki engis, enskis engu
pl.	N A G D	engir enga engra engum	engar engar engra engum	engi engi engra engum

2.4. Verbs

2.4.1. Strong Verbs

The stem of the subjunctive pl. is i-mutation of the indicative pl..

		Indicative		Subjunctive
		Present	Past	Present	Past
		Active voice
sing.	1 2 3	lyk lykr lykr	lauk laukt lauk	lúka lúkir lúki	lyka lykir lyki
pl.	1 2 3	lúkum lúkidh lúka	lukum lukudh luku	lúkim lúkidh lúki	lykim lykidh lyki
infinitive pres. part. past part.		lúka lúkandi lúkinn, lúkin, lúkit
		Middle voice
sing.	1 2 3	lykumk lyksk lyksk	laukumk laukzk lauksk	lúkumk lúkisk lúkisk	lykumk lykisk lykisk
pl.	1 2 3	lúkumk lúkizk lúkask	lukumk lukuzk lukusk	lúkimk lúkizk lúkisk	lykimk lykizk lykisk
infinitive pres. part. past part.		lúkask lúkandisk lúkizk

2.4.1.1. Class 1

infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
bíta	bítr	beit	bitu	bitinn
bídha	bídhr	beidh	bidhu	bedhit
lídha	lídhr	leidh	lidhu	lidhit

2.4.1.2. Class 2

infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
ljúga	lygr	laug	lugu	loginn
hljóta	hlytr	hlaut	hlutu	hlotinn
fljúga, fljúgja	flygr	fló, flaug	flugu	floginn
kjósa	kysr	kaus	kuru	kosinn (?)

2.4.1.3. Class 3

infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
bresta	brestr	brast	brustu	brostinn
drekka	drekkr	drakk	drukku	drukinn
verdha	verdhr	vardh	urdhu	ordhinn
binda	bindr	batt	bundu	bundinn
bregdha	bregdhr	brá	brugdhu	brugdhinn

2.4.1.4. Class 4

infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
skera	skerr	skar	skáru	skorinn
nema	nemr	nam	námu	numinn
sofa	søfr	svaf	sváfu	sofinn
koma	kømr	kom	kvámu, kómu	kominn
fela	felr	fal	fálu	fólginn
stela	stelr	stal	stálu	stólinn

2.4.1.5. Class 5

infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
drepa	drepr	drap	drápu	drepinn
bidhja	bidhr	badh	bádhyu	bedhinn
kvedha	kvedhr	kvadh	kvádhu	kvedhinn
sjá	sér	sá	sá, sáu	séinn
The following have a weak present tense:
liggja	liggr	lá	lágu	leginn
gefa	gefr	gaf	gáfu	gefinn

2.4.1.6. Class 6

infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
fara	ferr	fór	fóru	farinn
ala	elr	ól	ólu	alinn
aka	ekr	ók	óku	akinn
taka	tekr	tók	tóku	tekinn
draga	dregr	dró	drógu	dreginn
slá	slær	sló	slógu	sleginn
The following have a weak present tense:
hlæja	hlær	hló	hlógu	hleginn

2.4.1.7. Class 7

	infinitive	pres. sing.	past sing.	past pl.	past part.
misc.	snúa	snyr	snøri, sneri	snøru, sneru	snúinn
misc.	róa	rœr	røri, reri	røru, reru	róinn
i.	heita	heitr	hét	hétu	heitinn
ii.	búa	byr	bjó	bjoggu	búinn
iii.	falla	fellr	fell	fellu	fallin
	ganga	gengr	gekk	gengu	genginn
	fá	fær	fekk	fengu	fenginn
iv.	láta	lætr	lét	létu	látinn
iv.	rádha	rædhr	rádh	rédhu	rádhinn
v.	blóta	blœtr	blét	blétu	blótinn

2.4.2. Weak Verbs

2.4.2.1 Type 1

		berja
		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imp.
		Present	Past	Present	Past	Pres.
		Active voice
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	ber berr berr berjum berjidh berja	bardha bardhir bardhi bördhum bördhudh bördhu	berja berir beri berim beridh beri	berdha berdhir berdhi berdhim berdhidh berdhi	ber berjum beridh
infinitive pres. part. past part.		berja berjandi bar(i)t
		Middle voice
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	berjumk bersk bersk berjumk berizk berjask	bördhumk bardhisk bardhisk bördhumk bödhuzk bördhusk	berjumk berisk berisk berimk berizk berisk	berdhumk berdhisk berdhisk berdhimk berdhizk berdhisk	bersk berjumk berizk
infinitive pres. part. past part.		berjask berjandisk bar(i)zk
		heyra
		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imp.
		Present	Past	Present	Past	Pres.
		Active voice
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	heyri heyrir heyrir heyrum heryidh heyra	heyrdha heyrdhir heyrdhi heyrdhum heyrdhudh heyrdhu	heyra heyrir heyri heyrim heyridh heyri	heyrdha heyrdhir heyrdhi heyrdhim heyrdhidh heyrdhi	heyr heyrum heyridh
infinitive pres. part. past part.		heyra heyrandi heyr(i)t
		Middle voice
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	heyrumk heyrisk heyrisk heyrumk heyrizk heyrask	heyrdhumk heyrdhisk heyrdhisk heyrdhumk heyrdhuzk heyrdhusk	heyrumk heyrisk heyrisk heyrimk heyrizk heyrisk	heyrdhumk heyrdhisk heyrdhisk heyrdhimk heyrdhizk heyrdhisk	heyrsk heyrumk heyrizk
infinitive pres. part. past part.		heyrask heyrandisk heyrzk

2.4.2.2 Type 2

		Indicative		Subjunctive
		Present	Past	Present	Past
		Active voice
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	kalla kallar kallar köllum kallidh kalla	kalladha kalladhir kalladhi kölludhum kölludhudh kölludhu	kalla kallir kalli kallim kallidh kalli	kalladha kalladhir kalladhi kalladhim kalladhidh kalladhi
infinitive pres. part. past part.		kalla kallandi kalladhr
		Middle voice
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	köllumk kallask kallask köllumk kallizk kallask	kölludhumk kalladhisk kalladhisk kölludhumk kölludhuzk kölludhusk	köllumk kallisk kallisk kallimk kallizk kallisk	kölludhumk kalladhisk kalladhisk kalladhimk kalladhizk kalladhisk
infinitive pres. part. past part.		kallask kallandisk kallazk

2.4.2.3 Type 3

2.4.3. Preterite-present Verbs

The present tense of these verbs is like the past tense of strong verbs, and their past tense is weak.

			eiga	mega	kunna	skulu	munu	muna
indic. pres.	sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	á átt á eigum eigudh eigu	má mátt má megum megudh megu	kann kannt kann kunnum kunnudh kunnu	skal skalt skal skulum skuludh skulu	mun munt mun munum munudh munu	man mant man munum munidh muna
indic. past stem subj. pres. stem subj. past stem			átt- eig- ætt-	mátt- meg- mætt-	kunn- kunn- kynn-	skyld- skyl- skyld-	mund- myn- mynd-	mund- mun- mynd-

2.4.4. Irregular Verbs

2.4.4.1. vera (to be)

		indic.		subj.
		pres.	past	pres.	past
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	em ert er erum erudh eru	var vart var várum várudh váru	sé sér sé sém sédh sé	væra værir væri værim væridh væri
imperative past part.		ver, veridh verit

2.4.4.2. vilja (to wish)

		indic.		subj.
		pres.	past	pres.	past
sing. pl.	1 2 3 1 2 3	vil vill, vilt vill viljum vilidh vilja	vilda vildir vildi vildum vildudh vildu	vilja vilir vili vilim vilidh vili	vilda vildir vildi vildim vildidh vildi
pres. part. past part.		viljandi viljat

Grammar Topics