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Positive

The positive🇮🇸 frumstig form of an adjective in Icelandic is the default form, for example rólegur “calm”. This is in contrast to the comparative (rólegri “calmer”) and superlative (rólegastur “calmest”).

The positive form inflects for gender, number and definiteness (strong or weak):

Kjóllinn minn er slitinn.
Það er skrýtið að enginn mætti í ballið.
Stelpurnar eru allar svo spenntar fyrir leiknum.
Gamli hundurinn blundar undir borðinu.

This chapter is a big boy, so you might want to get some kaffi ☕️

Identifying the ending​

In order to be able to inflect an adjective in all of its respective forms, you need to determine which part is the stem🇮🇸 stofn and which part is the ending🇮🇸 ending. There are several major groups of adjectives classed by ending:

‑urróleg|ur, sadd|ur, glað|ur
‑rblá|r, frí|r, hrá|r, trú|r
‑llsæl|l, gamal|l
For the purposes of inflection, only the second l is really a removable ending, the first l will remain in all forms.
‑nngræn|n, brún|n
For the purposes of inflection, only the second n is really a removable ending, the first n will remain in all forms.
‑innopin|n, hávaxi|n
For the purposes of inflection, only the second n is really a removable ending, the first n will remain in all forms except the neuter singular nominative/accusative.
‑a/ihiss|a, hugs|i, sammál|a

Strong inflection​

The 💪 strong inflection🇮🇸 sterk beyging of adjectives is the inflection you’ll use most often. It’s used:

  • ➡️ After vera to describe a pronoun or noun;
  • ⬅️ Before a noun that doesn’t have the definite article;
  • 🔮 After certain indefinite pronouns, like ekkert or eitthvað.

The weak form is also used after the freestanding defintie article, but this is very rare.

Let’s look at some examples, first of all after vera:

Hann er skemmtilegur.
Hestarnir eru brúnir og hvítir.

This is what it looks like before indefinite nouns:

Gott kaffi hressir þig.
Tveir bláir bílar keyra framhjá.

And finally, some examples of the weak inflection after indefinite pronouns:

Hvað gerðirðu í gærkvöldi? Ekkert sérstakt.
Mig langar í eitthvað girnilegt að borða.

Strong or weak?

If the noun has the definite article attached to it, or a demonstrative pronoun like þessi or sá before it, then you need to use the weak inflection.

Basic principles​

Dictionary form

The default form of all adjectives is the strong masculine singular nominative, for example góður or brúnn. This is the form you’ll find as the headword in the dictionary.

The basic principle of adjective inflection in Icelandic is to remove the masculine singular nominative ending and add the relevant ending for the form in question. However, there are also a number of sometimes-interacting processes that occur alongside these inflectional endings:

  • U-shift (in the feminine singular nominative and forms where the ending starts with u),
  • Syncope (where internal vowels are dropped after adding an ending that starts with a vowel), and
  • t-assimilation (where ð or d sounds become t).

This might seem like an overwhelming number of things to think about when you just want to find the right from of glaður for example, but if you look at these processes as systematic rules rather than exceptions, then it makes things easier. It’s also helpful because these processes occur in other word classes, such as nouns and verbs, too.

Nominative singular​

Let’s start by looking at the basics. We’ll stick to the nominative singular so you can get a feel for how different adjectives respond to the sound changes outlined above.

For the majority of adjective endings we look at below, the basic rules will be the same:

  • To form the feminine, remove the ending and apply U-shift where applicable;
  • To form the neuter, remove the ending and add ‑t.

There are some variations and exceptions along the way, but bear these basic rules in mind and things will be much easier.

-ur​

MasculineFeminineNeuter
‑urveikur
blautur
þreyttur
skemmtilegur		veik
blaut
þreytt
skemmtileg		veikt
blautt
þreytt
skemmtilegt

So far, so regular. The only thing to note here is that because þreytt already ends in ‑tt, there’s no need to add a third t in the neuter.

‑ur
(U‑shift)		glaður
saddur		⚠️ glöð
⚠️ södd		glatt
satt

Here we encounter our first variations:

  • Both of these adjectives have an a in their stem, which means they will undergo the U-shift in the feminine. As before, we remove the masculine ending as well.
  • In the neuter, there is no U-shift and we add the expected t ending. However, because the stem of these adjectives ends in ð or d, we get assimilation, giving us tt.

There are two adjectives in this group that have slightly irregular neuter forms:

  • góður, which loses its accent to become gott,
  • sannur, where the n assimilates with the t ending in the neuter to become satt.

Sometimes, what appears to be an ‑ur ending is actually part of the adjective’s stem. This means the ‑ur isn’t removed in the feminine and neuter forms:

‑ur‑Øbitur
dapur
fagur		bitur
⚠️ döpur
⚠️ fögur		biturt
dapurt
fagurt

Note that U-shift still takes place in the feminine where applicable. Adjectives where the ‑ur is part of the stem are far rarer than ones where ‑ur is a removable ending, so these ones are best learnt as exceptions.

note

The English words that are etymologically related to these adjectives in this group all also end in ‑r: bitter, dapper, fair. You might find this a helpful way to remember these exceptions. Note that dapur doesn’t mean “dapper” however, it means “sad”.

-r​

‑rblár
frír
mjór
trúr
nýr		blá
frí
mjó
trú
ný		blátt
frítt
mjótt
trútt
nýtt

This group is a slight variation on the ‑ur group. They share a few common features:

  • They all end in ‑r in the nominative masculine singular;
  • They are mostly single-syllable (unless they appear in compounds, e.g. glænýr);
  • They have an accented vowel (á, í, ó, ú, ý) or æ in their stem.

The main difference from the ‑ur group is that in the neuter they get tt instead of t. This is because their stem ends in a vowel.

-r/s/n-Ø​

‑r‑Øklár
stór
dýr
glær
þurr		klár
stór
dýr
glær
þurr		klárt
stórt
dýrt
glært
þurrt
‑s‑Ølaus
viss
kurteis		laus
viss
kurteis		laust
visst
kurteist
‑n‑Øjafn
eigingjarn
forn		⚠️ jöfn
⚠️ eigingjörn
forn		jafnt
eigingjarnt
fornt

This group is defined by its lack of removable ending. The stem of these adjectives ends in n, r or s.

Confusingly, a fair number of adjectives in this group both end in ‑r and have an accented stem vowel or æ. Unfortunately you just need to learn that these adjectives are not part of the ‑r group above, as there’s no way to tell them apart by their dictionary form.

Because there is no ending to remove, the nominative singular masculine and feminine forms of these adjectives are identical, except where U-shift is applicable.

note

Some English words that are etymologically related to these adjectives in this group also end in ‑r: clear (klár), dear (dýr) . You might find this a helpful way to remember these exceptions.

-ll/nn​

‑llheill
gamall		heil
⚠️ gömul		heilt
gamalt
‑nngrænn
beinn		græn
bein		grænt
beint

Adjectives ending in ‑ll and ‑nn behave almost identically. To form the feminine, simply remove the final consonant. To form the neuter, remove the final consonant and add ‑t.

The first l or n is part of the stem and will remain in all forms of the adjective.

-inn​

‑innopinn
hávaxinn		opin
hávaxin		opið
hávaxið

Adjectives in this group tend to be derived from strong verbs, although this isn’t always the case. They often resemble the past participle of strong verbs.

These adjectives behave like the ‑nn group in the masculine and feminine, however in the neuter the ending changes to ‑ið.

-aður​

‑aðurpirraður
massaður
silfurlitaður		⚠️ pirruð
⚠️ mössuð
⚠️ silfurlituð		pirrað
massað
silfurlitað

Adjectives in this group are generally derived from group 1 weak verbs. They get U-shift in the feminine, which can cause a chain reaction if there is more than one a in the stem.

In the neuter, they don’t get ‑t. Simply take off the ‑ur ending!

-a/i​

‑ahissa
sammála		hissa
sammála		hissa
sammála
‑ispennandi
hugsi		spennandi
hugsi		spennandi
hugsi

Adjectives ending in ‑a or ‑i are not inflected! This means they’re the same in all genders and numbers (and actually cases too).

All adjectives ending in ‑andi fall into this group (they are normally derived from verbs), such as spennandi, gefandi and þreytandi.

Nominative plural​

For all groups, the adjective endings in the nominative plural are as follows:

Masculine‑ir
Feminine‑ar
Neuter‑Ø (+U‑shift)

We add these endings onto the bare stem, which you can find by following the rules above.

✨ Golden rule

The neuter plural nominative/accusative is always the same as the feminine singular nominative (U-shift and all).

So what does this look like for different kinds of adjectives?

SingularPlural
Masc.Fem.Neu.Masc.Fem.Neu.
veikur
blautur
þreyttur		veik
blaut
þreytt		veikt
blautt
þreytt		veikir
blautir
þreyttir		veikar
blautar
þreyttar		veik
blaut
þreytt
glaður
saddur		glöð
södd		glatt
satt		glaðir
saddir		glaðar
saddar		glöð
södd

Accusative, dative and genitive​

Now it’s time to put everything together. If you’re comfortable with how to find the ending of an adjective and remove it to get the stem, then you’re ready to learn the endings for all the cases! 🤘

For all groups, the adjective endings are as follows in the accusative, dative and genitive:

 SingularPlural
Masc.Fem.Neu.Masc.Fem.Neu.
Nom.See above ↑‑Ø (+U‑shift)‑t‑ir‑ar‑Ø (+U‑shift)
Acc.‑an‑a‑a
Dat.‑um‑ri‑u‑um
Gen.‑s‑rar‑s‑ra

Some observations about the above:

  • The neuter singular is the same in the nominative and accusative, just like nouns;
  • The masculine genitive singular and neuter genitive singular are always the same;
  • The feminine plural and neuter plural are also the same in the nominative and accusative, just like nouns;
  • The neuter plural nominative/accusative is always the same as the feminine singular nominative (including U-shift);
  • The masculine plural accusative is always the same as the feminine singular accusative;
  • The dative plural is ‑um for all genders, just like nouns, and is always the same as the masculine singular dative;
  • The genitive plural is ‑ra for all genders.

😢 This is quite a lot of endings to remember, but if you bear the above observations in mind, you’ll save yourself some time. There aren’t actually as many distinct endings as there are slots in the table.

And happily, certain endings coincide with those of the definite article and some indefinite pronouns. So there are some patterns to be found:

Diskarnir eru brotnir.
Það eru margar stórar súkkulaðikökur á borðinu.

Full strong paradigm​

So are you ready to see a full strong paradigm? Here’s one or two examples from each group:

 SingularPlural
Masc.Fem.Neu.Masc.Fem.Neu.
Nom.veikurveikveiktveikirveikarveik
Acc.veikanveikaveika
Dat.veikumveikriveikuveikum
Gen.veiksveikrarveiksveikra
U-shift

Watch out for U-shift caused by endings starting with u!

Some notes about the full strong paradigm:

  • Adjectives whose stem ends in ý or æ, like ný|r and gagnsæ|r, get j-insertion before all endings that start with a or u, e.g. masc. sing. nom. nýr → masc. sing. acc. nýjan, masc. sing. dat. nýjum;
  • Adjectives ending in ‑l/nn get assimilation in the feminine singular dative, feminine singular genitive and genitive plural. This means the r in the ending changes to l or n respectively, e.g. masc. sing. nom. gamall → fem. sing. dat. gamalli, fem. sing. gen. gamallar, plu. gen. gamalla;
  • Adjectives ending in ‑inn are the same in the masculine singular nominative and accusative. This is the same as the number einn and pronouns neinn and hinn;
  • Adjectives ending in ‑inn also get syncope when the ending starts with a vowel. This means that the last i in the stem is dropped, e.g. masc. sing. nom. opinn → masc. sing. dat. opnum.

Weak inflection​

Usage​

The 🥀 weak inflection🇮🇸 veik beyging of adjectives is used:

The easiest way to think about it is like putting “the” on the adjective. So gamli maðurinn is like saying “the old the man”. Sounds weird af in English, but it’s beautiful Icelandic.

Let’s see some examples of the weak inflection with definite nouns:

Gamli maðurinn sofnar í sófanum.
Ég ætla að kaupa bláu bókina.
Býr hann ekki í hvíta húsinu?

This is what it looks like after a demonstrative pronoun:

Þessi gamli bíll er algjört drasl!
Við ætlum að smakka þessa flottu köku.
Sjáðu þetta glaða barn!

And finally, in personal and place names:

Ása litla byrjaði að gráta.
Skrifstofan er í Gamla Garði.

The weak form is also used after the freestanding definite article, but this is very rare.

Formation​

The weak inflection is really easy to form. There are far fewer endings than in the strong inflection:

 SingularPlural
Masc.Fem.Neu.Masc.Fem.Neu.
Nom.‑i‑a‑a‑u
Acc.‑a‑u
Dat.
Gen.

After what we’ve just been through with the strong inflection, this seems almost too easy. But it really is that straightforward! There are only 3 possible endings: ‑a, ‑i or ‑u.

You might notice that the singular endings are the same as for weak nouns, and that’s no coincidence!

Full weak paradigm​

 SingularPlural
Masc.Fem.Neu.Masc.Fem.Neu.
Nom.veikiveikaveikaveiku
Acc.veikaveiku
Dat.
Gen.
U-shift

As always, watch out for U-shift caused by endings starting with u!

Some notes about the full weak paradigm:

  • Adjectives whose stem ends in ý or æ, like ný|r and gagnsæ|r, get j-insertion before all endings that start with a or u, e.g. fem. sing. nom. nýja, plu. nýju;
  • Adjectives ending in ‑inn also get syncope. This means that the last i in the stem is dropped, e.g. masc. sing. nom. opni.