| Infin. | Third Pres. | Prt. Sing. | Prt. Pl. | Ptc. Prt. |
| bera (carry) | berr | bar | bāru | borinn |
| nema (take) | nemr | nam | nāmu | numinn |
| fela (hide) | felr | fal | fālu | fōlginn |
| koma (come) | kömr | kom | kvāmu | kominn |
| sofa (sleep) | söfr | svaf | svāfu | sofinn |
| Infin. | Third Pres. | Prt. Sing. | Prt. Pl. | Ptc. Prt. |
| drepa (kill) | drepr | drap | drāpu | drepinn |
| gefa (give) | gefr | gaf | gāfu | gefinn |
| kveða (say) | kveðr | kvað | kvāðu | kveðinn |
| meta (estimate) | metr | mat | mātu | metinn |
| reka (drive) | rekr | rak | rāku | rekinn |
| eta (eat) | etr | āt | ātu | etinn |
| sjā (see) | sēr6 | sā | sā7 | sēnn |
[Footnote 6: sē, sēr, sēr; sjām, sēð, sjā. Subj. sē, sēr, sē; sēm, sēð, sē.]
[Footnote 7: sām, sāið, sā.]
146. The following have weak presents:--
| Infin. | Third Pres. | Prt. Sing. | Prt. Pl. | Ptc. Prt. |
| biðja (ash) | biðr | bað | bāðu | beðinn |
| sitja (sit) | sitr | sat | sātu | setinn |
| liggja (lie) | liggr | lā | lāgum | leginn |
| þiggja (receive) | þiggr | þā | þāgu | þeginn |
| Infin. | Third Pres. | Prt. Sing. | Prt. Pl. | Ptc. Prt. |
| bīta (bite) | bītr | beit | bitu | bitinn |
| drīfa (drive) | drīfr | dreif | drifu | drifinn |
| grīpa (grasp) | grīpr | greip | gripu | gripinn |
| līða (go) | līðr | leið | liðu | liðinn |
| līta (look) | lītr | leit | litu | litinn |
| rīða (ride) | rīðr | reið | riðu | riðinn |
| sīga (sink) | sīgr | seig | sigu | siginn |
| slīta (tear) | slītr | sleit | slitu | slitinn |
| stīga (advance) | stīgr | steig | stigu | stiginn |
| bīða (wait) | bīðr | beið | biðu | beiðnn |
148. The following has a weak present:
| Infin. | Third Pres. | Prt. Sing. | Prt. Pl. | Ptc. Prt. |
| vīkja (move) | vīkr | veik | viku | vikinn |
| Infin. | Third Pres. | Prt. Sing. | Prt. Pl. | Ptc. Prt. |
| bjōða (offer) | bȳðr | bauð | buðu | boðinn |
| brjōta (break) | brȳtr | braut | brutu | brotinn |
| fljōta (float) | flȳtr | flaut | flutu | flotinn |
| hljōta (receive) | hlȳtr | hlaut | hlutu | hlotinn |
| kjōsa (choose) | kȳss | kaus | kusum | kosinn |
| njōta (enjoy) | nȳtr | naut | nutu | notinn |
| skjōta (shoot) | skȳtr | skaut | skutu | skotinn |
| drjūpa (drop) | drȳpr | draup | drupu | dropinn |
| ljūga (tell lies) | lȳgr | laug | lugu | loginn |
| lūka (close) | lȳkr | lauk | luku | lokinn |
| lūta (bend) | lȳtr | laut | lutu | lotinn |
| fljūga (fly) | flȳgr | flō | flugu | floginn |
150. There are three conjugations of weak verbs. All those of the first conjugation have mutated vowels in the pres., and form their pret. with ð (d, t): heyra (hear), heyrða. Those of the second form their pret. in the same way, but have unmutated vowels in the pres.: hafa (have) hafða. Those of the third form their pret. in -aða: kalla (call), kallaða.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||
| Present sg. 1. | heyr-i | heyr-a | |
| 2. | heyr-ir | heyr-ir | |
| 3. | heyr-ir | heyr-i | |
| pl. 1. | heyr-um | heyr-im | |
| 2. | heyr-ið | heyr-ið | |
| 3. | heyr-a | heyr-i | |
| Preterite sg. 1. | heyr-ða | heyr-ða | |
| 2. | heyr-ðir | heyr-ðir | |
| 3. | heyr-ði | heyr-ði | |
| pl. 1. | heyr-ðum | heyr-ðim | |
| 2. | heyr-ðuð | heyr-ðið | |
| 3. | heyr-ðu | heyr-ði | |
Imper. sg. 1. heyr; pl. 1. heyr-um, 2. heyr-ið.
Partic. pres. heyr-andi; pret. heyr-ðr.
Infin. heyr-a.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||
| Present sg. 1. | heyr-umk | heyr-umk | |
| 2. | heyr-isk | heyr-isk | |
| 3. | heyr-isk | heyr-isk | |
| pl. 1. | heyr-umk | heyr-imk | |
| 2. | heyr-izk | heyr-izk | |
| 3. | heyr-ask | heyr-isk | |
| Preterite sg. 1. | heyr-ðumk | heyr-ðumk | |
| 2. | heyr-ðisk | heyr-ðisk | |
| 3. | heyr-ðisk | heyr-ðisk | |
| pl. 1. | heyr-ðumk | heyr-ðimk | |
| 2. | heyr-ðuzk | heyr-ðizk | |
| 3. | heyr-ðusk | heyr-ðisk | |
Imper. sg. 2. heyr-sk; pl. 1. heyr-umk, 2. heyr-izk.
Partic. pres. heyr-andisk; pret. heyr-zk neut.
Infin. heyr-ask.
152. The inflectional ð becomes d after long syllables ending in l or n: sigla (sail), siglda; nęfna (name), nęfnda, nęfndr.
153. -ðð becomes dd: leiða (lead), leidda.
154. ð after s and t becomes t: reisa (raise), reista; mœta (meet), mœtta. Also in a few verbs in l, n: mæla (speak), mælta; spęnna (buckle), spęnta.
155. After nd and pt it is dropped: sęnda (send), sęnda, sęndr; lypta (lift), lypta.
156. It is preserved in such verbs as the following: dœma (judge), dœmða; fœra (lead), fœrða; hęrða (harden), hęrða; hleypa (gallop), hleypða.
157. All these verbs have j preceded by a short syllable (tęlja), or a long vowel without any cons. after it (dȳja), or gg (lęggja); the j being kept before a and u, as in the pres. ind. of spyrja (ask): spyr, spyrr, spyrr; spyrjum, spyrið, spyrja, pres. subj. 1 sg. ek spyrja; they unmutate their vowel in the pret. and ptc. pret. (spurða, spurðr), the mutation being restored in the pret. subj. spyrða, spyrðir, etc. The ptc. pret. often has an i before the ð.
| bęrja (strike) | barða | barðr |
| lęggja (lay) | lagða | lag(i)ðr |
| tęlja (tell) | talða | tal(i)ðr |
| vękja (wake) | vakða | vakðr |
| flytja (remove) | flutta | fluttr |
| dȳja (shake) | dūða | dūðr |
158. The following keep the mutated vowel throughout:
| sęlja (sell) | sęlda | sęldr |
| sętja (set) | sętta | sęttr |
159. The following are irregular:
| sœkja (seek) | sōtta | sōttr |
| þykkja (seem) | þōtta | þōttr |
Subj. pret. sœtta, þœtta.
160. The following has an adj. for its partic. pret.:
| gǫ̈ra (make) | gǫ̈rða | gǫ̈rr. |
161. The few verbs of this class are conjugated like those of conj. I, except that some of them have imperatives in -i: vaki, þęfi; uni. lifa, sęgja have imper. lif, sęg. They mutate the vowel of the pret. subj. (ynða). Their partic. pret. generally occurs only in the neut.; sometimes the a is dropped.
| lifa (live) | lifi | lifða | lifat |
| una (be contented) | uni | unða | unat |
| skorta (be wanting) | skorti | skorta | skort |
| þola (endure) | þoli | þolða | þolat |
| þora (dare) | þori | þorða | þorat |
| nā (attain) | nāi | nāða | nāðr, nāit |
162. The following show mutation:
| sęgja (say) | sęgi | sagða | sagðr |
| þęgja (be silent) | þęgi | þagða | þagat |
| hafa (have) | hęfi | hafða | hafðr |
| kaupa (buy) | kaupi | keypta | keyptr |
163. The present indic. of the first three is as follows:
| Sing. 1. | hęfi | sęgi | þęgi |
| 2, 3. | hęfir | sęgir | þęgir |
| Plur. 1. | hǫfum | sęgjum | þęgjum |
| 2. | hafið | sęgið | þęgið |
| 3. | hafa | sęgja | þęgja |
164. The rest of hafa is regular. Pres. subj. hafa, hafir, hafi; hafim, hafið, hafi. Pret. indic. hafða, hafðir, hafði; hǫfdum, hǫfðuð, hǫfðu. Pret. subj. hęfða, hęfðir, hęfði; hęfðim, hęfðið, hęfði. Imper. haf, hǫfum, hafið. Ptc. hafandi, hafðr.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||
| Present sg. 1. | kall-a | kall-a | |
| 2. | kall-ar | kall-ir | |
| 3. | kall-ar | kall-i | |
| pl. 1. | kǫll-um | kall-im | |
| 2. | kall-ið | kall-ið | |
| 3. | kall-a | kall-i | |
| Preterite sg. 1. | kall-aða | kall-aða | |
| 2. | kall-aðir | kall-aðir | |
| 3. | kall-aði | kall-aði | |
| pl. 1. | kǫll-uðum | kall-aðim | |
| 2. | kǫll-uðuð | kall-aðið | |
| 3. | kǫll-uðu | kall-aði | |
Imper. sing. 2. kall-a; plur. 1. kǫll-um, 2. kall-ið.
Partic. pres. kall-andi; pret. kallaðr (neut. kallat).
Infin. kalla.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||
| Present sg. 1. | kǫll-umk | kǫll-umk | |
| 2. | kall-ask | kall-isk | |
| 3. | kall-ask | kall-isk | |
| pl. 1. | kǫll-umk | kall-imk | |
| 2. | kall-izk | kall-izk | |
| 3. | kall-ask | kall-isk | |
| Preterite sg. 1. | kǫll-uðumk | kǫll-uðumk | |
| 2. | kall-aðisk | kall-aðisk | |
| 3. | kall-aðisk | kall-aðisk | |
| pl. 1. | kǫll-uðumk | kall-aðimk | |
| 2. | kǫll-uðuzk | kall-aðizk | |
| 3. | kǫll-uðusk | kall-aðisk | |
Imper. sing. 2. kall-ask; pl. 1. kǫll-umk, 2. kall-izk.
Partic. pres. kall-andisk; pret. kall-azk neut.
Infin. kall-ask.
165. So also byrja (begin), hęrja (make war), vakna (awake).
166. These have old strong preterites for their presents, from which new weak preterites are formed.
| Infin. | Pres. Sg. | Pres. Pl. | Prt. | Ptc. |
| eiga (possess) | ā | eigu | ātta | āttr |
| kunna (can) | kann | kunnu | kunna | kunnat n. |
| mega (can) | mā | megu | mātta | mātt n. |
| muna (remember) | man | munu | munða | munat n. |
| munu (will) | mun | munu | munða | ---- |
| skulu (shall) | skal | skulu | skylda | skyldr |
| þurfa (need) | þarf | þurfu | þurfta | þurft n. |
| unna (love) | ann | unnu | unna | unnt n. |
| vita (know) | veit | vitu | vissa | vitaðr |
167. Of these verbs munu and skulu have preterite infinitives: mundu, skyldu.
| Sing. | Plur. | |
| 1. | vil | viljum |
| 2. | vill | vilið |
| 3. | vill | vilja |
Subj. pres. vili. Pret. ind. vilda. Ptc. prt. viljat.
| Indicative | Subjunctive | ||
| Present sg. 1. | em | sē | |
| 2. | ert | sēr | |
| 3. | er | sē | |
| pl. 1. | erum | sēm | |
| 2. | eruð | sēð | |
| 3. | eru | sē | |
| Preterite sg. 1. | var | væra | |
| 2. | vart | værir | |
| 3. | var | væri | |
| pl. 1. | vārum | værim | |
| 2. | vāruð | værið | |
| 3. | vāru | væri | |
Imper. sg. ver; pl. verið. Ptc. prt. verit n.
170. Composition with the genitive is very frequent in Icelandic. Thus by the side of skip-stjōrn (ship-steering) we find skips-brot (ship's breaking, shipwreck), skipa-hęrr (army of ships, fleet). Genitival composition often expresses possession, as in konungs-skip (king's ship).
171. Prefixes are much less used in Icelandic than in Old English.
al- 'quite,' 'very': al-būinn 'quite ready,' al-snotr 'very clever.'
all- 'all,' 'very': all-valdr 'all-ruler, monarch,' all-harðr 'very hard,' all-stōrum 'very greatly.'
and- 'against': and-lit 'countenance' (lita, look), and-svar 'answer.'
fjǫl- 'many': fjǫl-męnni 'multitude' (maðr, man).
mis- 'mis-': mis-līka 'displease.'
ū- 'un-': ū-friðr 'war' (friðr, peace), ū-happ 'misfortune' (happ luck).
172. -ingr, -ingi, -ing: vīkingr 'pirate,' hǫfðingi 'chief,' kęrling 'old woman.'
173. -ð, fem. with mutation: fęgrð 'beauty' (fagr, fair), fęrð 'journey' (fara, go), lęngð 'length' (langr, long).
-ing, fem.: svipting 'pulling,' vīking 'piracy,' virðing 'honour.'
-leikr, masc.: kœr-leikr 'affection' (hœrr, dear), skjōt-leikr 'speed' (skjōtr, swift).
-an, -un, fem.: skipan 'arrangement,' skęmtun 'amusement.'
174. -ugr: rāðugr 'sagacious,' þrūðugr 'strong.'
-ōttr: kollōttr 'bald,' ǫndōttr 'fierce.'
-lauss '-less': fē-lauss 'moneyless,' ōtta-lauss 'without fear.'
-ligr '-ly': undr-ligr 'wonderful,' sann-ligr 'probable' (sannr, true).
-samr: līkn-samr 'gracious,' skyn-samr 'intelligent.'
-verðr '-ward': ofan-verðr 'upper.'
175. -na: brotna 'be broken' (brotinn, broken), hvītna 'become white,' vakna 'awake.' Used to form intransitive and inchoative verbs of the third conj.
176. -liga '-ly': undar-liga 'wonderfully,' stęrk-liga 'strongly' (stęrkr, strong).
-um, dat. pl.: stōrum 'greatly' (stōrr, great).
177. Icelandic syntax greatly resembles Old English, but has several peculiarities of its own.
178. Concord is carried out very strictly in Icelandic: allir męnn vāru būnir 'all the men were ready,' allir vāru drepnir 'all were killed.'
179. A plural adj. or pronoun referring to two nouns of different (natural or grammatical) gender is always put in the neuter: þā gekk hann upp, ok með honum Loki (masc.), ok Þjālfi (masc.), ok Rǫskva (fem.). þā er þau (neut.) hǫfðu lītla hrið gęngit... 'he landed, and with him L., and Þ., and R. When they had walked for some time...'
180. The extensive use of the instrumental dative is very characteristic of Icelandic: whenever the direct object of a verb can be considered as the instrument of the action expressed by the verb, it is put in the dative, as in kasta spjōti 'throw a spear' (lit. 'throw with a spear'), hann helt hamarskaptinu 'he grasped the handle of the hammer,' heita þvī 'promise that,' jāta þvī 'agree to that.'
181. The weak form of adjectives is used as in O.E. after the definite article, þessi and other demonstratives. annarr (other) is always strong.
182., An adj. is often set in apposition to a following noun to denote part of it: eiga hālft dȳrit 'to have half of the animal,' ǫnnur þau 'the rest of them,' of miðja nātt 'in the middle of the night.'
183. sā is often put pleonastically before the definite article inn, both before and after the subst.: sā inn ungi maðr 'that young man,' hafit þat it djūpa 'the deep sea.'
184. The definite article is generally not expressed at all, or else einn, einnhvęrr is used.
185. A noun (often a proper name) is often put in apposition to a dual pron. of the first and second persons, or a plur. of the third person: þit fēlagar, 'thou and thy companions,' með þeim Āka 'with him and Āki.' Similarly stęndr Þōrr upp ok þeir fēlagar 'Thor and his companions get up.'
186. The plurals vēr, þēr are sometimes used instead of the singulars ek, þū, especially when a king is speaking or being spoken to.
187. sik and sēr are used in a strictly reflexive sense, referring back to the subject of the sentence, like se in Latin: Þorr bauð honum til matar með sēr 'Thor asked him to supper with him.'
188. The tenses for which there is no inflection in the active, and all those of the passive, are formed by the auxiliaries skal (shall), hafa (have), vera (be) with the infin. and ptc. pret., much as in modern English.
189. The historical present is much used, often alternating abruptly with the preterite.
190. The middle voice is used: (1) in a purely reflexive sense: spara 'spare,' sparask 'spare oneself, reserve one's strength.' (2) intransitively: būa 'prepare,' būask 'become ready, be ready'; sętja 'set,' sętjask 'sit down'; sȳna 'show,' sȳnask 'appear, seem.' (3) reciprocally: bęrja 'strike,' bęrjask 'fight'; hitta, 'find,' hittask 'meet.' In other cases it specializes the meaning of the verb, often emphasizing the idea of energy or effort: koma 'come,' komask 'make one's way.'
191. The impersonal form of expression is widely used in Icelandic: rak ā storm (acc.) fyrir þeim 'a storm was driven in their face.'
192. The indef. 'one' is expressed in the same way by the third pers. sg., and this form of expression is often used when the subject is perfectly definite: ok freista skal þessar īþrōttar 'and this feat shall be tried (by you).'
193. The abrupt change from the indirect to the direct narration is very common: Haraldi konungi var sagt at þar var komit bjarndȳri, 'ok ā Īslęnzkr maðr,' 'King Harold was told that a bear had arrived, and that an Icelander owned it.' The direct narration is also used after at (that): hann svarar at 'ek skal rīða til Hęljar' 'he answers that he will ride to Hel.'