Icelandic Language
1. Pronunciation
Icelandic has many English sounds due the languages both coming from the same
language tree. Unless mentioned, assume English pronunciation.
- said as ow as in cow
- said as th in the
E e - said as the short ai sound in air
- said as yeah, but shorter
F f - at the start of words it is said as the English f. Between vowels as English. Before l
or n as a b. Fnd is said as English m and fnt is said as hm
G g - At the beginning of words it is said as a hard English g. In between vowels and at
the end of a word a very soft throaty g resembling a toned down German ch at the
back of the throat.
It is not pronounced between accented vowels. It is said as an Icelandic j between a
vowel and j. After a vowel and before a t or s it is a hard German ch
I i - said as I in win
- said as ee in we
J j - said as a y at the beginning of words. Elsewhere it is aspirated before the y
sound
O o - said as o in hot
- said as oh
R r - is always rolled
S s - always an s, never said as a z
U u - said as the French eux but shorter
- said as the ew sound in yew
X x - said as a hard German ch
Y y - see I
- see
- said as the th sound in thing
- said as eye
- said as ur as in murder
Hv - as kf in thankful
Ll - as tl
Nn - as tn after accented vowel or diphthong. This also happens between rl, rn, sl and sn
Pp, tt, kk are all aspirated
Au - is said as j
Ei and ey - said as the a sound in case
2. Alphabet & the names of the letters
Aa a
N n enn
Ooo
B b b
D d d
P p p
R r er
Eee
S s ess
T t t
F f eff
Uuu
G g ge
H h h
V v vaff
Iii
X x ex
Y y ufsilon y
J j jo
ufsilon
K k k
orn
L l ell
M m emm
3. Nouns & Cases
Cases are simply the ending of a noun. In Icelandic most nouns are declined. There are
3 genders (masculine, feminine and neuter) and 4 cases (nominative, accusative, dative
and genitive). Icelandic is not largely a grammatical language, but instead a lexical
language. This means that is it is verbs and prepositions which govern cases, rather
than sentence position. If there is both a verb and preposition in the sentence it will be
the preposition rather than the verb which decides the case.
4. Nominative Case
This is the case in which all nouns appear in the dictionary. If the verb in the sentence
does not govern a case, and there is no preposition then the noun will be in the
nominative case. The nominative singular endings are as follows:
Masculine: ur , l, n, i
Feminine: a, or no ending
Neuter: no endings, although nouns ending with accented accents are usually neuter.
5. Accusative Case
The singular accusative case endings are as follows:
Masculine: remove the nominative ending. If the noun ends in i then it changes to a.
Feminine: if the noun had no ending in the nominative, it will have no ending in the
accusative. If the noun ended in a it will change to ur .
Neuter: no ending.
6. Dative Case
The dative singular endings are:
Masculine: very irregular group. Some acquire i, others do not. If the noun ended in i in
the nominative, it will end in a in the dative.
Feminine: the same rules apply as the feminine accusative.
Neuter: add i.
7. Genitive Case
Masculine
- ur , l, n
-i
No ending
Feminine
-a
Nominativ
e
ir
ir
ur
Accusative
ir
ur
Dative
Genitive
Neuter
Vowel shift See
section 8
U(m)*
a
Masculine: add s. If the noun ended in i in the nominative, it will end in an a in the
genitive.
Feminine: nouns which ended in a become ar. Nouns which had no ending remain ur .
Neuter: add s.
8. Plurals
The table below shows the case endings in the plural:
* The m is not added if definite article is being added.
9. Articles
There is no indefinate article, meaning that the word barn (child) means both child and a
child.
The definite article is suffixed to the noun and its declension. The table below shows the
definite article and its various declensions:
10. A complete declension table
Here is an example of all noun classes without the definite article.
Singular
- ur , l, n
Masculine
-i
Feminine
No ending -a
Neuter
Nominative
bllinn
nemandinn
rsin a
Kirkjan
barni
Accusative
blinn
nemandann
rsinni
kirkjuni
barni
Dative
blnum
nemandanum
rsinna
kirkjunna
barninu
Genitive
blsins
nemandans
rsarinnar
kirkjunnir
barnsins
Plural
Nominative
blarnir
nemendurnir
rsirnar
kirkjurnar
brnin
Accusative
blana
Singularrsirnar
nemendurna
kirkjurnar
brnin
Dative
Feminine
blunumMasculine
nemendunum
rsunum
- ur , l,n
-i
No ending -a
blanna
nemandanna
rsanna
inn
nn
in
n
Genitive
Nominative
kirkjunum
Neuter
brnunum
kirkjanna
i
barnanna
Accusative
inn
nn
ina
na
Dative
num
num
inni
nni
nu
Genitive
ins
ns
innar
nnar
ins
Plural
Nominative
nir
nar
nar
in
Accusative
na
nar
nar
in
Dative
num
Genitive
nna
And with the definite article
Bll car
Singular
Masculine
- ur , l, n
-i
Feminine
No ending -a
Neuter
Nominative
bll
nemandi
rs
kirkja
barn
Accusative
bl
nemanda
rs
kirkju
barn
Dative
bl
nemanda
rs
kirkju
barni
Genitive
bls
nemanda
rsar
kirkju
barns
Plural
Nominative
blar
nemendur
rsir
kirkjur
brn
Accusative
bla
nemendur
rsir
kirkjur
brn
Dative
blum
nemendum
rsum
kirkjum
brnum
nemanda
rsa
kirkja
barna
Genitive
bla
Nemandi pupil
Rs rose
Kirkja church
Barn child
11. Prepositions
The following prepositions govern the accusative case:
Um about
Gegnum through
Kringum around
Vi at, against
The following prepositions govern the dative case:
A towards
Fr from
Af off
r out of
Nlgt near
The following prepostitions govern the genitive case:
Til to
n without
Milli between
Vegna because of
Prepositions governing more than one case:
and dative in
and accusative into
and dative on
and accusative onto
Undir and dative under
Under and accusative going under
Me and dative means with but in an instrumental sense.
Me and accuasative means with" as in bringing
12. Demonstratives
To form the other add an h in front of definite article and put it before the noun. There is
only one irregularity neuter singular becomes hitt not hi.
This
Referring to something mentioned earlier in the sentence
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
essi
essi
etta
Accusative
ennan
essa
etta
Dative
essum
essari
essu
Genitive
essa
essarar
essa
Plural
Nominative
essir
essar
essi
Accusative
essa
essar
essi
Dative
essum
essum
essum
Genitive
essara
essara
essara
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
Accusative
ann
Dative
eim
eirri
Genitive
ess
eirrar
ess
Plural
Nominative
eir
au
Accusative
au
Dative
eim
Genitive
13. Personal Pronouns
eirra
Singular
I
You
He
She
It
Nominative
Hann
Hn
Accusative
Mig
ig
Hann
Hana
Dative
Mr
Honum
Henni
Genitive
Mn
Hans
Hennars
ess
Plural
Nominative
Vi
eir
au
Accusative
Okkur
Ykkur
au
Dative
Okkur
Ykkur
eim
Genitive
Okkar
Ykkar
eirra
In Icelandic it is important to refer back to a noun in the correct gender. An example: rs
is feminine, so refer to it as hn.
Also note, that personal pronouns are only capitalised at the beginning of a sentence.
See the section on personal pronouns in the genitive for more accurate usage.
14. To Be, to Have and to Become
To be Vera (this governs the nominative)
g er
ert
Hann, Hn, a er
Vi erum
i eru
eir, r, eim eru
There are three verbs for to have in Icelandic. The majority require the verb vera in its
correct form followed by me and the object in the accusative, although there are two
common alternatives.
To own Eiga (this governs the accusative)
g
tt
Hann
Vi eigum
i eigi
eir eiga
To have Hafa (this verb governs the accusative)
g hef
hefur
Hn hefur
Vi hfum
i hafi
r hafa
To become Vera (this verb governs the nominative)
g ver
verur
a verur
Vi verum
i veri
au vera
15. Vowel Shifts
In Icelandic vowels change, or shift for many reasons, the most common reasons being
case endings or tense.
The most common shift is the shift. This occurs in the plural neuter nominative and
accusative and when a syllable proceeding the letter a is a u.
For example, the feminine noun taska (case) will become tsku, not tasku, in the
singular accusative, dative and genitive. There are however two rules. An accented
does not change. Also the combination au does not qualify (augu does not become
ugu).
In unstressed positions, the a changes to u rather than
Another vowel shift in Icelandic is the I shift. This shift has many uses, but these will be
dealt with when they occur, although the most important use is the present tense of
strong verbs. The I shift involves the following changes:
A
O
J
J
Au
=
=
=
e
e
ey
taka = tek
koma = kem
f = f
ba = b
fljga = flg
brjta = brt
auka = eyk
The I shift never occurs in the plural.
Taka take
Koma come
F get
Ba live
Fljga fly
Brjta break
Auka increase
16. Verbs
In Icelandic, there are three categories of verbs. The first group is known as the a
group. In the g form use the infinitve and in the and hann, hn, a form and an r to
the infinitive. An example:
g tala
talar
Hann talar
The second group is the I group. These follow the same rules as above except with an
i, for example:
g oli
olir
Hn olir
The third group is the ur group and conjugate as follows:
g vinn
vinnur
a vinnur
All three groups have the same endings in the plural:
Vi um
i i
eir a
Vi tlum ( shift)
i tali
eir tala
All verbs in Icelandic end in a in the infinitive, except munu and skulu which are used to
express the future and a few other verbs which end in .
Tala to talk
ola to endure
Vinna to work
17. Simple Past tense of Weak Verbs
In Icelandic, verbs can be either strong or weak. Strong verbs form their past tense with
a vowel shift (an English example take becomes took). Weak verbs add an ending to
show their past tense (English example talk becomes talked).
There is no way of telling if a verb is strong or weak. This is learned through usage. To
form a weak past tense, simply take the infinitive and remove the last letter (with the
exception of a group verbs which keep the a) and add the appropriate ending:
-i
-ir
-i
-um
-u
-u
g tlai
tlair
Hn tlai
Vi tluum ( shift)
i tluu ( shift)
r tluu ( shift)
If the stem of the verb ends in s or -t, the becomes t. If the stem ends in -l, -m or n,
the will change to d. If the stem ends in do not add the extra .
In weak verbs, there is also a stem vowel shift. E goes to a and y goes to u. Similarly,
goes to .
18. Simple Past Tense of Strong Verbs
Past tense of strong verbs are formed with a vowel shift, with only a few forms taking an
ending as well. The shift changes are different for singular and plural verbs.
Stem Vowel
Singular
Plural
Example
ei
Ba bei bium
J j
au
Fljga flaug flugum
Drekka drakk drukkum
Gefa gaf gfum
Finna fan fundum
Sitja sat stum
Fara fr frum
a
A
Ei
Falla fell fllum
Lta lt ltum
Heita ht hyum
Au
Hlaupa hljp hlupum
The endings are easy to remember, but the plural ending may trigger of a shift
g (no ending)
st
Hann. Hn, a (no ending)
Vi um
i u
eir, r, au u
An example:
Lesa read
g las
last
Hann, Hn, a las
Vi buum
i buu
eir, r, au buu
19. Questions
Most Icelandic question words start in hv.
Where = hvar
Where from = hvaan
When = hvenr
What = hva
Why = hvers vegna
How = hvernig
Who = hver. However, this can be declined as follows:
To construct questions, simply invert the verb. For example:
g er = I am
Er g? = am I?
When this happens with , it becomes attached to the verb. The is either lost or
changes:
ert = You are
Ertu? = Are you
Hva segjru? = What do you say?
20. Numbers (Simple)
Numbers in Icelandic are incredibly complex. For correct usage of numbers see
Numbers Advanced. This section is only intended as a rough introduction.
1. Einn
2. Tveir
3. rr
4. Fjrir
5. Fimm
6. Sex
7. Sj
8. tta
9. Nu
10. Tu
11. Ellefu
12. Tlf
13. rttn
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
hver
hver
hvert or hva
Accusative
hvern
hverja
Dative
hverjum
hverri
hverju
Genitive
hvers
hverrar
hvers
Plural
Nominative
hverjir
Accusative
hverja
Dative
Genitive
hverjar
hverjum
hverra
hver
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Nominative
einn
ein
Accusative
einn
eina
Dative
einum
Genitive
eins
Nominative
einir
Accusative
eina
Dative
Genitive
14. Fjrtn
15. Fimmtn
16. Sextn
17. Sautjn
18. tjn
19. Ntjn
20. Tuttugu
einnar
21. Tuttugu og einn
Plural 30. rjtu
40. Fjrutu
einar
50. Fimmtu
60. Sextu
70. Sjtu
80. ttatu
90. Nutu
100. Hundra
101. Hundra og einn
1000. sund
1000000. Milljn
einni
21. Numbers (Advanced)
As mentioned earlier, Icelandic numbers are rather erratic. The first problem
encountered is the fact that the numbers 1 through 4 are declined in both gender, case
and in some instances singular and plural. The table below shows the declension and
then gives an explanation of how to use them.
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
tveir
tvr
tv
Accusative
tvo
Dative
tveimur
Genitive
tveggja
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
rr
rjr
rj
Accusative
rj
Dative
remur
Genitive
riggja
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
fjrir
fjrar
fjgur
Accusative
fjra
Dative
fjrum
Genitive
fjgurra
Numbers have to agree with what is being counted. This means that roses would be
counted using the feminine version of 1, 2, 3 and 4 because rs is feminine. When
reciting numbers use the masculine form.
The numbers hundra, sund and miljn have set genders (neuter, neuter and
feminine), so it is important to decline these as plural numbers when using any number
after 1 (ie tv sund). It is also important to use the correct gender of the numbers 1 - 4
with these numbers.
To make matters worse there can be more than one form of a number in a larger
number. For example, hs (house) is neuter. So to say 2031 houses you must use the
correct form of 2, 1000 must be plural and 1 must be neuter as it qualifies the noun
house. 2031 houses in Icelandic would be tv sund rjtu og eitt hs.
Numbers in Icelandic can be extremely difficult, but these rules easily sink in with
practise. Unfortunately, due to stubbornness, Icelanders will not hold back at telling you
off for getting numbers wrong and desecrating the language. It has remained virtually
unchanged for thousands of years, and so they refuse to change it now.
22. Days of the Week
Week days (virkir dagar)
Mnudagur
rijudagur
Mivikudagur
Fimmtudagur
Fstudagur
Weekend (helgi)
Laugardagur
Sunnudagur
All the days are masculine and can be declined. Days are only capitalised at the
beginning of sentences.
Daglega - daily
Vikulega weekly
23. Months of the Year
Mnuir (months)
Janar
Febrar
Mars
Aprl
Ma
Jn
Jl
gst
September
Oktober
Nvember
Desember
Months cannot be declined.
Mnaarlega monthly
24. Seasons
rstir (seasons)
Vetur winter
Vor spring
Sumar summer
Haust autumn
Seasons can be declined. All the seasons are neuter except vetur, which is masculine.
25. Directions
When it comes to directions, Icelandic most resembles Old English, with different forms
of directions depending on whether you are going, coming or already there. English lost
this distinction over time, but due to its geographical isolation, changes in other
languages have had little effect on Icelandic. This is very extreme, with Icelanders being
able to read sagas in Old Norse with no difficulty at all. It is often said that Icelandic is
Old Norse with a few variations in pronunciation and a slightly different spelling system.
It is very important to note that the directions are always given in relation to the position
of the speaker.
Left vinstri
Right hgri
Straight ahead Beint fram
Back tilbaka
Here hr (na)
From here han
To here hinga
There arna
From there aan
To there anga
Where (not a question) ar sem
Up upp
Down niur
All ready up at uppi
All ready down at niri
If any of the words for up or down are followed by a vowel, the vowel at the end off the
words for up or down will be replaced with an apostrophe, for example, upp.
26. Declensions of Adjectives
Adjectives can be tricky to master but once you are familiar with them, they are very
easy to form. Adjectives always become before the noun they qualify.
Adjectives have fixed gender. This means that if someone was to say they are weak they
would say g er slappur despite the gender of the speaker. However, when qualifying a
noun, the gender changes to match that of the noun.
There are 2 sets of declensions for adjectives in Icelandic. The first is known as weak
declension and is used when the definite article is being added. This is the easiest
declension pattern within Icelandic, and many find weak adjectives the easiest part of
Icelandic.
When being used with indefinite nouns, the adjective takes on strong declension, which
has a rather more elaborate declension pattern.
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
Ur , ll, nn
shift
Accusative
an
Dative
um
ri
Genitive
rar
Plural
Nominative
ir
Accusative
ar
shift
Dative
um
Genitive
ra
To ease pronunciation, the following changes at the end of neuter adjectives occur:
+ t = tt
Vowels are followed by tt
Consonant + d = t
Adjectives that end in r get an additional r before an r ending is added. This means hlr
goes to hlrrar. Adjectives ending in ll or nn lose the first r in r endings (eg ltillar)
In both weak and strong adjective declensions be aware of vowel shifts. Fraction and j
insertion may also be necessary (see below).
27. Fraction
This is purely to ease pronunciation and to lessen the effects of harsh sounds. Fraction
is very common, and thankfully, very easy to do. Any nouns or adjectives that have two
syllables in the stem lose the second stem vowel when a vowel ending is added. Gamall
means old. Fraction would occur here when an ending beginning with a vowel is added.
So, instead of becoming gamalan we get gamlan.
Fraction does not apply to nouns with the definite article when it is at the end of the
noun. Furthermore, fraction does not occur in adjectives ending in legur. This means that
fallegur (beautiful) would become fallegan.
28. J Insertion
J insertion is used to keep a consistent relationship between spelling and pronunciation.
It occurs naturally in speech so you need not worry about pronouncing it too much. The
rules for J insertion are simple. Whenever an ending beginning a or u is added to a stem
ending , or ey, a j will be placed between stem and ending. For example, nr will
become njum
29. Colours
Colours are adjectives, and so are declinable. A few colours are false friends they do
not mean what they appear to mean.
Hvtur white
Svartur black
Blr blue
Grnn green
Rauur red
Brnn brown
Gulur yellow
Grr grey
Fjlublr purple
Watch out for:
Bleikur pink
Appelsnugulur orange
30. Time
Hva er klukkan? What time is it?
Klukkan er (+ neuter) the time is.
Fyrir + dative = ago
+ acc = for
Eftir + acc = after
morgun = this morning, in the morning
dag = today
kvld = this evening
ntt = tonight
Ein klukkustund and Einn klukkutimi both mean 1 hour
Hlftmi = half an hour
Korter = a quarter hour
Mnta = a minute
Seknda = a second
.. past. = klukken er .. mntur yfir ..
In Icelandic, you go half to the hour. So klukkan er hlf tv is half one
Quarter to .. = klukkan er korter .
31. Weather
Icelandic has many words for weather and its various extremes. Listing them all could
take many months, even years. This is a list of the most common weather terms you are
most likely to hear.
Wind vindur
Breeze gola
Windy hvass
Storm stormur
Gale rok
Sunshine slskin
Bright heiskr
Its cloudy a er skja
Shower skr
Sleet slydda
Its snowing a snjar
Mist oka
Warm hltt, hlr
Hot heitt
Frost frost
32. Family
Genealogy is very popular in Iceland. So popular that relatives for which there are no
names in English are named in Icelandic (eg, there is a word for people who have the
same great great grandparents). Again, there are too many terms to list, so here are
the essentials.
Mummy mamma
Mother mir
Daddy pabbi
Father fair
Parents foreldrar
Sister systir
Brother brir
Siblings systkini
Gran amma
Granddad afi
Grandchild barnabarn
In laws - tengdaflk
33. To Know
There are different verbs for to know depending on what it is you know. This may
sound daunting, but it is not.
The verb kunna implies knowledge of a learned skill for example driving a car. When
followed by another verb, a must be placed between the two, otherwise it governs the
accusative case and conjugates as follows:
g kann
kannt
Hann Kann
Vi kunnum
i kunni
eir kunna
The next verb expressing knowledge is vita. This is more factual knowledge and it
governs the accusative case. A very important rule is that this verb cannot stand alone. It
has to be followed by something. You cannot say g veit. Instead you must say g veit
a. When used as a subordinate clause, it is followed by a. An example veist a g
elska ig (you know that I love you)
g veit
veist
Hn veit
Vi vitum
i viti
r vita
The verb ekkja implies knowledge due to previous exposure and again governs the
accusative case.
34. Personal Pronouns in the Genitive
These pronouns show ownership. They follow the definite noun and like all other
pronouns, they have to agree.
n also declines the same.
The declension of our is different from that of above.
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
minn
mn
mitt
Accusative
minn
mna
Dative
mnum
minni
mnu
Genitive
mns
minnar
mns
mnar
mn
Plural
Nominative
mnir
Accusative
mna
Dative
mnum
Genitive
minna
35. Countries & Nationalities
Singular
Masculine
Feminine
Neuter
Nominative
vor
vor
vort
Accusative
vorn
vora
Dative
vorum
vorri
voru
Genitive
vors
vorrar
vors
Plural
Nominative
vorir
Accusative
vora
Dative
vorum
Genitive
vorra
vorar
Country
Nationality
England
Skotland
Spnn
tala
Rssland
Frakkland (France)
Kanada
Svj (Sweden)
Englendingur
Skoskur
Spnskur
talskur
Rssneskur
Franskur
Kanadskur
Snskur
vor
36. Negative Sentences
There are a few ways of negating statements in Icelandic, the most easiest being nei
(no).
When making positive a negative statement, use j instead of j. For example, Ertu ekki
englendinger? translates as are you not English? If you are, use j rather than j.
If you require to make a statement negative, place ekki after the verb for example, g
tla ekki a I dont intend to
37. Irregular Nouns
In Icelandic, some nouns follow a completely different declension pattern as the one you
know. They take totally different forms and some are affected by I-shift. Here are the
most common deviations, but this is by no means a full list:
Father
Singular
Nominative
fair
Accusative
fur
Dative
fur
Genitive
fur
Plural
Nominative
feur
Accusative
feur
Dative
ferum
Genitive
fera
Mother
Singular
Nominative
mir
Accusative
mur
Dative
mur
Genitive
mur
Plural
Nominative
mur
Accusative
mur
Dative
mrum
Genitive
mra
Tree
Singular
Nominative
tr
Accusative
tr
Dative
tr
Genitive
trs
Plural
Nominative
tr
Accusative
tr
Dative
trj(m)
Genitive
trj(a)
The letters in brackets are only added if the definite article is not being added.
Cat
Singular
Nominative
kttur
Accusative
ktt
Dative
ketti
Genitive
kattar
Plural
Nominative
kettir
Accusative
ketti
Dative
kttum
Genitive
katta
Book
Singular
Nominative
bk
Accusative
bk
Dative
bk
Genitive
bkar
Plural
Nominative
bkur
Accusative
bkur
Dative
bkum
Genitive
bka
38. The Middle Voice
The middle voice is used to show that something is being done together. It can also
replace reflexives. The middle voice is very easy to form. Simply add st to the
conjugated verb. There are only a few points to remember:
Remove ur , -r and before adding st
Remove dentals before adding st
The middle voice is a useful of shortening sentence as it expresses the idea of each
other or self. For example, insted of saying g hitti ig og hettir mig (i meet you and
you meet me) simply say g og hittumst.
There are a few verbs which change their meaning in the middle voice. Koma (come)
becomes komast (get somewhere). Taka (take) becomes takast to mean succeed and
gera becomes gerast meaning happen.
39. Participles
The present participle is the equivalent of ing. In Icelandic add ndi to the infinitive. For
example hafa (to have) becomes hafandi (having).
The other participle in Icelandic is the past participle, and this is slightly more complex:
The a verb group add a (tala tala)
The i group add t (reykja reykt)
The other verbs end in i and undergo a vowel shift.
E
Y or
J, j, , e
goes to
a
u or
I
o
This vowel shift is very irregular and the above is only a rough guide. There are far too
many exceptions to cater for.
40. Commands
Commands are far more common in Icelandic than in many other languages. This is due
to the lack of the word please. Imperatives are used for even the most friendliest of
situations, meaning that commands also act as requests.
Forming the imperative is very easy. Simply add u to the verb.
When the stem of the verb ends in l, m, or n, -u becomes du.
When the stem ends p, s, k, or t, -u becomes tu.
If the stem already ends in dd or tt you will not add an extra d or t.
To form a plural imperative, add ii.
Here are some irregular forms:
Be quiet egiu
Be vertu
Think - haltu
41. Impersonal Construction
These are very common in Icelandic. Simply, they are verbs that require the subject to
be in a case other than the nominative, which is usually the case the subject has to be
in.
Acc + langar + acc = would like
Acc + vantar +acc = lacks (ie, I dont have. So can I borrow)
Acc + yrstir = is thirsty
Dat + finnst + acc = thinks
Dat + lur + acc = likes
These are the most common impersonal verbs. Another useful one is dat + vera
(conjugated form) kalt: eg r ert kalt means you are cold.
