Grammar terminology and abbreviations

I believe that in order to learn a language, you don’t need to learn the grammar in detail and to be focused on it too much. The greatest way is to be immersed in the language, preferably to have conversations with native speakers. Unfortunately, I don’t have the chance to be in Iceland right now, neither the opportunity to surround myself with the language, so for the moment, I have decided to treat grammar seriously.

When I see something strange, I would like to know the reason for it. I am also interested in the evolution of a language and I like to observe the changes that have happened in it, its development.

This is why you will see a lot of grammar terminology and abbreviations in my blog, but you can find them all explained below:

Abbreviations

The most common abbreviations that I’ll use refer to gender, number, and cases:

• nf. – nominative case
• þf. – accusative case
• þgf. – dative case
• ef. – genitive case
• kk. – masculine
• kvk. – feminine
• hk. – neuter

Also, eintala = singular, fleirtala = plural.

Grammar terminology

• V-innskot (V-insertion) – а -v is inserted, when -ar ending is added. Example: stöð (place), but stöðVar.

• J-innskot (J-insertion) – a -j is inserted whenever -e, -æ, -ey are followed by an -a or – u ending. The nominative form for an island is ey, but when adding -ar in the genitive case, we have to insert a -j before it (eyjar).

• Brottfall (elision/fraction): loss of a sound in a word or phrase – when adding a vowel to a noun or an adjective with two syllables in the stem, the second stem vowel is lost. For example, veður (weather) loses -u when -i is added – veðri.

• Samdráttur (contraction): a shortened version of the form of the word is created due to the omission of internal letters and sounds.

• Sound shifts: a-hljóðvarp, u-hljóðvarp og i-hljóðvarp. You might have come across them in English like a-shift, u-shift and i-shift. In the Germanic languages, these shifts are called respectively a-umlaut, u-umlaut, i-umlaut or also mutations. A vowel change is triggered by other sound called radio sound. You can see more information about these umlauts on Wikipedia.

U-hljóðvarp (U-umlaut)

The most common one is the u-shift (a→ö/u). A changes into an ö or u in unstressed syllables when followed by u in the next syllable. This u might be either visible or invisible (lost u that is not part of the word anymore, but it has triggered the shift back in timе). If there is an intermediate syllable that separates the two syllables, the shift does not occur.

The shift is very typical for the verbs in the first person plural and the nouns in dative plural due to the -um ending (ég tala → við tölum). The u-shift occurs also in feminine nouns with plural -ur ending and neuter plural nouns with an a in the stem.

It might seem difficult to find u-shift in verslun (store, shop), for example, but in its plural form verslanir, the u-shift is neutralized by the -ir ending and the original -a is returned to the stem. You can think of it like some kind of reverse u-shift and this happens with feminine nouns which have no ending in the singular but do have -ö or -u in the stem (gjöf → gjafir).

I-hljóðvarp (I-umlaut)

This shift is typical for the verbs. 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

Do you honestly need to know all of this?

You will see a lot of the abbreviations in dictionaries and textbooks. You will notice all of the changes – shifts, sound losses and so on in the language all of the time. You will be more prepared to predict the u-shift in the nouns and verbs, having in mind when does it occur.

Once the grammar is internalized, all of this information might not be necessary, but at the beginning is good to know it, I think.

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.