II. 'Shake'-conjugation
Infin. Third Pres. Prt. Sing. Prt. Pl. Ptc. Prt.
fara (go) fęrr fōr fōru farinn
grafa (dig) gręfr grōf grōfu grafinn
hlaða (load) hlęðr hlōð hlōðu hlaðinn
vaxa (grow) vęx ōx ōxu vaxinn
standa (stand) stęndr stōð stōðu staðinn
aka (drive) ękr ōk ōku ękinn
taka (take) tękr tōk tōku tękinn
draga (draw) dręgr drō drōgu dręginn
flā (flay) flær flō flōgu flęginn
slā (strike) slær slō slōgu slęginn

141. The following have weak presents:

Infin. Third Pres. Prt. Sing. Prt. Pl. Ptc. Prt.
hęfja (lift) hęfr hōf hōfu hafinn
deyja (die) deyr dō dō dāinn
hlæja (laugh) hlær hlō hlōgu hlęginn

142.

III. 'Bind'-conjugation
Infin. Third Pres. Prt. Sing. Prt. Pl. Ptc. Prt.
bresta (burst) brestr brast brustu brostinn
hverfa (turn) hverfr hvarf hurfu horfinn
svelga (swallow) svelgr svalg sulgu sōlginn
verða (become) verðr varð urðu orðinn
skjālfa (shake) skelfr skalf skulfu skolfinn
drekka (drink) drekkr drakk drukku drukkinn
finna (find) finnr fann fundu fundinn
vinna (win) vinnr vann unnu unninn
binda (bind) bindr batt bundu bundinn
springa (spring) springr sprakk sprungu sprunginn
stinga (pierce) stingr stakk stungu stunginn
bregða (pull) bregðr brā brugðu brugðinn
sökkva (sink) sökkr sǫkk sukku sokkinn
stökkva (spring) stökkr stǫkk stukku stokkinn

143. The following have weak presents (which makes however no difference in their conjugation):

Infin. Third Pres. Prt. Sing. Prt. Pl. Ptc. Prt.
bręnna (burn) bręnnr brann brunnu brunninn
ręnna (run) ręnnr rann runnu runninn

144.

IV. 'Bear'-conjugation
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

145.

V. 'Give'-conjugation
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

147.

VI. 'Shine'-conjugation
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

149.

VII. 'Choose'-conjugation
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
Weak Verbs

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.

I. 'Hear'-conjugation
Active

151.

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.

Middle
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.

A. Without vowel-change

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.

B. With vowel-change

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
C.

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.
II. 'Have'-conjugation

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.

III. 'Call'-conjugation
Active
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.

Middle
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).

Strong-Weak Verbs

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.

Anomalous Verbs

168. Vilja (will):

Present
Sing. Plur.
1. vil viljum
2. vill vilið
3. vill vilja

Subj. pres. vili. Pret. ind. vilda. Ptc. prt. viljat.

169. Vera (be):

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.

Composition

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).

Derivation
Prefixes

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).

Endings
(a) Nouns
Personal

172. -ingr, -ingi, -ing: vīkingr 'pirate,' hǫfðingi 'chief,' kęrling 'old woman.'

Abstract

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.'

(b) Adjectives

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.'

(c) Verbs

175. -na: brotna 'be broken' (brotinn, broken), hvītna 'become white,' vakna 'awake.' Used to form intransitive and inchoative verbs of the third conj.

(d) Adverbs

176. -liga '-ly': undar-liga 'wonderfully,' stęrk-liga 'strongly' (stęrkr, strong).

-um, dat. pl.: stōrum 'greatly' (stōrr, great).

Syntax

177. Icelandic syntax greatly resembles Old English, but has several peculiarities of its own.

Concord

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...'

Cases

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.'

Adjectives

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.'

Pronouns

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.'

Verbs

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.'

Texts

I. Thor
Þōrr er āsanna framastr, sā er kallaðr er Āsa-þōrr eða Ǫku-þōrr; hann er stęrkastr allra guðanna ok manna. Hann ā þar rīki er Þrūð-vangar heita, en hǫll hans heitir Bilskīrnir; ī þeim sal eru fimm hundruð gōlfa ok fjōrir tigir; þat er hūs mest, svā at męnn hafa gǫ̈rt.
Þōrr ā hafra tvā, er svā heita, Tann-gnjōstr ok Tann- grisnir, ok reið þā er hann ękr, en hafrarnir draga reiðina; þvī er hann kallaðr Ǫkuþōrr. Hann ā ok þrjā kost-gripi. Einn þeira er hamarrinn Mjǫllnir, er hrīm-þursar ok berg- risar kęnna, þā er hann kömr ā lopt, ok er þat eigi undarligt: hann hęfir lamit margan haus ā fęðrum eða frændum þeira. Annan grip ā hann bęztan, męgin-gjarðar; ok er hann spęnnir þeim um sik, þā vęx honum ās-męgin hālfu. En þriðja hlut ā hann þann er mikill gripr er ī, þat eru jārn- glōfar; þeira mā hann eigi missa við hamarskaptit. En engi er svā frōðr at tęlja kunni ǫll stōr-virki hans.

II. Thor and Ūgarðaloki
Þat er upp-haf þessa māls at Ǫkuþōrr fōr með hafra sīna ok reið, ok með honum sā āss er Loki er kallaðr; koma þeir at kveldi til eins bōnda ok fā þar nātt-stað. En um kveldit tōk Þōrr hafra sīna, ok skar bāða; ęptir þat vāru þeir flęgnir ok bornir til kętils; en er soðit var, þā sęttisk Þōrr til nātt-verðar ok þeir lags-męnn. Þōrr bauð til matar með sēr bōndanum, ok konu hans, ok bǫrnum þeira; sonr bōnda hēt Þjālfi, en Rǫskva dōttir. Þā lagði Þōrr hafr- stǫkurnar utar frā eldinum, ok mælti at bōndi ok heima-męnn hans skyldu kasta ā hafrstǫkurnar beinunum. Þjālfi, sonr bōnda, helt ā lær-lęgg hafrsins, ok sprętti ā knīfi sīnum, ok braut til męrgjar. Þōrr dvalðisk þar of nāttina; en ī ōttu fyrir dag stōð hann upp, ok klæddi sik, tōk hamarinn Mjǫllni ok brā upp, ok vīgði hafrstǫkurnar; stōðu þā upp hafrarnir, ok var þā annarr haltr ęptra fœti. Þat fann Þōrr, ok talði at bōndinn eða hans hjōn mundi eigi skynsamliga hafa farit með beinum hafrsins: kęnnir hann at brotinn var lærlęggrinn. Eigi þarf langt frā þvī at sęgja: vita męgu þat allir hvęrsu hræddr bōndinn mundi vera, er hann sā at Þōrr lēt sīga brȳnnar ofan fyrir augun; en þat er sā augnanna, þā hugðisk hann falla mundu fyrir sjōninni einni samt; hann hęrði hęndrnar at hamar-skaptinu svā at hvītnuðu knūarnir. En bōndinn gǫ̈rði sem vān var, ok ǫll hjōnin: kǫlluðu āka- fliga, bāðu sēr friðar, buðu at fyrir kvæmi alt þat er þau āttu. En er hann sā hræzlu þeira, þā gekk af honum mōðrinn, ok sefaðisk hann; ok tōk af þeim ī sætt bǫrn þeira, Þjālfa ok Rǫsku, ok gǫ̈rðusk þau þā skyldir þjōnustu- męnn Þōrs, ok fylgja þau honum jafnan sīðan.