Present tense (Nútíð)

The present tense is one of the two simple tenses in Icelandic. As with the nouns, the verbs are divided into categories and it can not be determined only by the infinitive to which category the verb belongs to since most verbs end in -a.

The names of the categories refer to the endings of the verbs included in them in the third person singular.

The verbs are either weak or strong, depending on the way they form the past tense. In strong verbs, a vowel change in the stem occurs, while in weak verbs a suffix is added to the stem. Аpart from the division of strong and weak verbs, which is clear, the classification of verbs by categories is organized in different ways so you can see the verbs organized in different number and type of categories.

I-hljóðvarp (I-umlaut)

There are a lot of vowel stem changes, happening in the first, second and third person singular:

• a, o, ö → e

að fara → ég fer

að koma → ég kem

að slökkva → ég slekk

• jó, jú, ú → ý

að bjóða → ég býð

að ljúga → ég lýg

að búa → ég bý

• á → æ

að fá → ég fæ

að ná → ég næ

• au → ey

að hlaupa → ég hleyp

U-hljóðvarp (U-umlaut)

a → ö in first person plural, because of the -um suffix:

ég tala → við tölum

Category I (A-category)

Persóna	að tala (to speak, to tell)
Ég	tal-a
Þú	tal-ar
Hann/hún/það	tal-аr
Við	töl-um
Þið	tal-ið
Þeir/Þær/Þau	tala

Category II (I-category)

Persóna	að læra (to learn)
Ég	lær-i
Þú	lær-ir
Hann/hún/það	lær-ir
Við	lær-um
Þið	lær-ið
Þeir/Þær/Þau	lær-a

Category III (UR-category)

Persóna	að koma (to come)
Ég	kem
Þú	kem-ur
Hann/hún/það	kem-ur
Við	kom-um
Þið	kom-ið
Þeir/Þær/Þau	kom-a

Category IV (stem ends in s or r)

Persóna	að lesa (to read)	að fara (to go)
Ég	les	fer
Þú	les-t	fer-ð
Hann/hún/það	les	fer
Við	les-um	för-um
Þið	les-ið	far-ið
Þeir/Þær/Þau	les-a	far-a

Category V (stem ends in a vowel or j)

Persóna	að þvo (to wash)	að skilja (to understand)	að segja (to say)
Ég	þvæ	skil	seg-i
Þú	þvæ-rð	skil-ur	seg-ir
Hann/hún/það	þvæ-r	skil-ur	seg-ir
Við	þvo-um	skil-j-um	seg-j-um
Þið	þvo-ið	skil-j-ið	seg-ið
Þeir/Þær/Þau	þvo	skil-j-a	seg-j-a

Note that j in second person plural disappears if there is a g or a k in the stem (að segja, að reykja).

In other classifications, the last three categories are unified in one category, called O-category.

It doesn’t actually matter how you will learn them, just choose what seems the best structured one to you.

I will once again recommend the exercises in íslenska.iz as a good way to get used to the endings. If you want to see all forms of a verb, then use bin.arnastofnun.is, where you can see the conjugation of a verb in all tenses, moods, and voices.

Cases: Declension patterns

The bad news: There is no way to predict how a noun will be declined. The group to which a noun belongs is defined by the declension endings in genitive singular and nominative plural. This is why these endings are always written down in the dictionaries for every noun. So, it’s a paradox – in order to know how to decline a noun, you should already know its declension.

Once you know the patterns, you can make some assumptions, based on the gender and the nominative singular ending, but there are just no rules, based on these characteristics. You will be sure only when you check in the dictionary.

More bad news: There is no easy way to learn the declensions. Especially when you are not in Iceland and you are not surrounded by the language, which would make the process much easier.

In such a case the advice that I have for you is:

1. Learn the declension endings by groups and try to remember them as patterns.
2. Write down in your notebook/make your own flashcards for one noun per group and try to remember it by heart so you can use it for the other nouns in the group, which follow the same pattern.
3. Consider the variations in a group not as a new pattern to remember, but as the same pattern with slight variations.
4. The dative and genitive plural are almost the same for all categories (-um and -a). This makes the number of endings your brain has to remember fewer! Hurray!
5. Go to this site: https://islenzka.is/aefingar/noun_table.html. The interactive tables are a good way to memorize the patterns and to make your own predictions and then see if they were true or not. After you become good at it, you can take the noun declension quiz from the list with exercises and begin practicing the declensions.

These tables are also good to memorize the gender of some nouns and the plural endings. The site is the most useful one I have found so far when it comes to grammar.

Before starting with the paradigms, check out this post, where all of the grammatical terms and abbreviations are explained.

Declension paradigms

A noun is declined as an ending is added to its stem.

There is no official classification of the noun classes. One noun can belong to one class in some classification and to another in other classification, depending on how they are organized. All classifications of the noun classes are however defined by the genitive singular and nominative plural endings.

The nouns are divided into strong and weak nouns and undergo strong and weak declension (sterk beyging og veik beyging).

WEAK NOUNS

Kk.,genitive singular -a/-ja, nominative plural -ar/-ur

Noun: tími (time) and nemandi (student)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	tím-i	-i	tím-ar	-ar
þf.	tím-a	-a	tím-a	-a
þgf.	tím-a	-a	tím-um	-um
ef.	tím-a	-a	tím-a	-a

• I-hljóðvarp

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	nemand-i	-i	nemend-ur	-ur
þf.	nemand-a	-a	nemend-ur	-ur
þgf.	nemand-a	-a	nemend-um	-um
ef.	nemand-a	-a	nemend-a	-a

Kvk.,genitive singular -u, nominative plural -ur/ genitive singular -i (-is), nominative plural without ending or -ar/-ir.

Noun: blússa (blouse) and lygi (lie)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	blúss-a	-a	blúss-ur	-ur
þf.	blúss-u	-u	blúss-ur	-ur
þgf.	blúss-u	-u	blúss-um	-um
ef.	blúss-u	-u	blúss-a	-a

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	lyg-i	-i	lyg-ar	-ar
þf.	lyg-i	-i	lyg-ar	-ar
þgf.	lyg-i	-i	lyg-um	-um
ef.	lyg-i	-i	lyg-a	-a

Hk., genitive singular -a, nominative plural -u, genitive plural -na (exception: hjarta)

Noun: lunga (lung)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	lung-a	-a	lung-u	-u
þf.	lung-a	-a	lung-u	-u
þgf.	lung-a	-a	lung-um	-um
ef.	lung-a	-a	lung-na	-na

STRONG NOUNS

A-category, kk., genitive singular -s /-ar, nominative plural -ar

Noun: hestur (horse)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	hest-ur	-ur	hest-ar	-ar
þf.	hest	–	hest-a	-a
þgf.	hest-i	-i (-)	hest-um	-um
ef.	hest-s	-s	hest-a	-a

A-category, kvk. – genitive singular -r /-ar, nominative plural -ar

Noun: vél (machine)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	vél	–	vél-ar	-ar
þf.	vél	–	vél-ar	-ar
þgf.	vél	–	vél-um	-um
ef.	vél-ar	-ar	vél-a	-a

A-category, kvk. variations

• nouns, ending in ing –a u is added to the accusative and dative singulars

Noun: kenning (kenning)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	kenning	–	kenning-ar	-ar
þf.	kenning-u	–u	kenning-ar	-ar
þgf.	kenning-u	–u	kenning-um	-um
ef.	kenning-ar	-ar	kenning-a	-a

• V-innskot

Noun: stöð (station)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	stöð	–	stöð-v-ar	v-ar
þf.	stöð	–	stöð-v-ar	v-ar
þgf.	stöð	–	stöð-v-um	v-um
ef.	stöð-v-ar	v-ar	stöð-v-a	v-a

• J-innskot

Noun: ey (island)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	ey	–	ey-j-ar	j-ar
þf.	ey	–	ey-j-ar	j-ar
þgf.	ey	–	ey-j-um	j-um
ef.	ey-j-ar	j-ar	ey-j-a	j-a

A-category, hk. – genitive singular -s, nominative plural without ending

In some classifications, the neutral strong nouns do not belong to a certain group and they are rather a separate class on their own.

Noun: orð (word)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	orð	–	orð	–
þf.	orð	–	orð	–
þgf.	orð-i	-i	orð-um	-um
ef.	orð-s	-s	orð-a	-a

A-category, hk. variations

• U-hljóðvarp

Noun: fat (garment)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	fat	–	föt	–
þf.	fat	–	föt	–
þgf.	fat-i	-i	föt-um	-um
ef.	fat-s	-s	fat-a	-a

• brottfall

Noun: veður (weather)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	veður	–	veður	–
þf.	veður	–	veður	–
þgf.	veðr-i	-i	veðr-um	-um
ef.	veður-s	-s	veðr-a	-a

• J-innskot

Noun: kyn (gender)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	kyn	–	kyn	–
þf.	kyn	–	kyn	–
þgf.	kyn-i	-i	kyn-j-um	j-um
ef.	kyn-s	-s	kyn-j-a	j-a

• samdráttur

Noun: tré (tree)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	tré	–	tré	–
þf.	tré	–	tré	–
þgf.	tré	–	trjá-m	-m
ef.	tré-s	-s	trjá-a	-a

I-category, kk. – genitive singular -s /-ar/-jar, nominative plural -ir

Noun: smiður (smith)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	smið-ur	-ur	smið-ir	-ir
þf.	smið	–	smið-i	-i
þgf.	smið	-(i)	smið-um	-um
ef.	smið-s	-s (ar)	smið-a	-a

I-category, kk. variations

• J-innskot

Noun: bær (town, city)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	bæ-r	-r	bæ-ir	-ir
þf.	bæ	–	bæ-i	-i
þgf.	bæ-i	-i	bæ-j-um	j-um
ef.	bæ-j-ar	j-ar	bæ-j-а	j-a

• What is seems like I-hljóðvarp: о→y, but it is originally A-hljóðvarp, since the original vowel was u changed to o

Noun: sonur (son)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	son-ur	-ur	syn-ir	-ir
þf.	son	–	syn-i	-i
þgf.	syn-i	-i	son-um	-um
ef.	son-ar	-ar	son-а	-a

• I-hljóðvarp
  ö→ e → a → e→ ö → a

Noun: völlur (field)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	völl-ur	-ur	vell-ir	-ir
þf.	völl	–	vell-i	-i
þgf.	vell-i	-i	völl-um	-um
ef.	vall-ar	-ar	vall-а	-a

I-category, kvk. – genitive singular -ar, nominative plural -ir

Noun: mynd (picture)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	mynd	–	mynd-ir	-ir
þf.	mynd	–	mynd-ir	-ir
þgf.	mynd	–	mynd-um	-um
ef.	mynd-ar	-ar	mynd-а	-a

I-category, kvk. variations:

• U-hljóðvarp

Noun: gjöf (present)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	gjöf	–	gjaf-ir	-ir
þf.	gjöf	–	gjaf-ir	-ir
þgf.	gjöf	–	gjöf-um	-um
ef.	gjaf-ar	-ar	gjaf-а	-a

• U-hljóðvarp

Noun: verslun (store, shop)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	verslun	–	verslan-ir	-ir
þf.	verslun	–	verslan-ir	-ir
þgf.	verslun	–	verslun-um	-um
ef.	verslun-ar	-ar	verslan-а	-a

R-category, kk. – nominative plural -ur

• brottfall

Nouns: fingur (finger) and vetur (winter)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	fingur	–	fingur	–
þf.	fingur	–	fingur	–
þgf.	fingr-i	-i	fingr-um	-um
ef.	fingur-s	-s	fingr-а	-a

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	vetur	–	vetur	–
þf.	vetur	–	vetur	–
þgf.	vetr-i	-i	vetr-um	-um
ef.	vetr-ar	-ar	vetr-а	-a

• I-hljóðvarp and U-hljóðvarp

Nouns: fótur (foot) and maður (man)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	fótur	-ur	fæt-ur	-ur
þf.	fót	–	fæt-ur	-ur
þgf.	fæt-i	-i	fót-um	-um
ef.	fót-ar	-ar	fót-а	-a

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	maður	–	menn	–
þf.	mann	–	menn	–
þgf.	mann-i	-i	mönn-um	-um
ef.	mann-s	-s	mann-а	-a

R-category, kvk. – genitive singular -ar /-ur,/-r, nominative plural -ur /-r

• I-hljóðvarp

Noun: bók (book)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	bók	–	bæk-ur	-ur
þf.	bók	–	bæk-ur	-ur
þgf.	bók	–	bók-um	-um
ef.	bók-ar	-ar	bók-а	-a

• I-hljóðvarp and U-hljóðvarp

Noun: tönn (tooth)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	tönn	–	tenn-ur	-ur
þf.	tönn	–	tenn-ur	-ur
þgf.	tönn	–	tönn-um	-um
ef.	tann-ar	-ar	tann-а	-a

• I-hljóðvarp, semdráttur

Noun: tá (toe)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	tá	–	tæ-r	-r
þf.	tá	–	tæ-r	-r
þgf.	tá	–	tá-m	-m
ef.	tá-ar	-ar	tá-а	-a

• I-hljóðvarp

Noun: nótt (night)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	nótt	–	næt-ur	-ur
þf.	nótt	–	næt-ur	-ur
þgf.	nótt	–	nótt-um	-um
ef.	næt-ur	-ur	nótt-а	-a

• I-hljóðvarp, semdráttur

Noun: kýr (cow)

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	kýr	–	ký-r	-r
þf.	kú	–	ký-r	-r
þgf.	kú	–	kú-m	-m
ef.	ký-r	-r	kú-а	-a

R-category, family names

• brottfall

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	systir	–	systur	–
þf.	systur	–	systur	–
þgf.	systur	–	systr-um	-um
ef.	systur	–	systr-a	-a

• brottfall, I-hljóðvarp

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	móðir	–	mæður	–
þf.	móður	–	mæður	–
þgf.	móður	–	mæðr-um	-um
ef.	móður	–	mæðr-a	-a

• brottfall, I-hljóðvarp and U-hljóðvarp

	eintala		fleirtala
nf.	faðir	–	feður	–
þf.	föður	–	feður	–
þgf.	föður	–	feðr-um	-um
ef.	föður	–	feðr-a	-a

The last, but the most important thing: the declensions are hard and there are many irregularities, but do not despair and do not give up! It will all make sense someday (or at least I hope so).

P.S. If you wonder what a unicorn has in common with the grammatical cases, the answer is: not many things. I just decided to put a colorful and cheerful picture, because there are just too many tables in this post.