List of irregular verbs

This is a list of irregular verbs in Icelandic. It doesn’t include strong verbs, which are mostly predictable based on the set of vowel changes they undergo. See a searchable list of strong verbs here.

ri-verbs

These verbs undergo the same vowel changes as strong verbs in the present tense, but in the past tense the vowel changes to e/é and the ending gains an r.

The e forms occur slightly more often than the é forms. Usage varies from speaker to speaker.

Infinitive	1st p. pres. sing.	1st p. past sing.	1st p. past plu.	Past participle
gróa	græ	greri/gréri	grerum/grérum	gróið
núa	ný	neri/néri	nerum/nérum	núið
róa	ræ	reri/réri	rerum/rérum	róið
snúa	sný	sneri/snéri	snerum/snérum	snúið

Preterite–present verbs

These verbs have a present tense form that appears similar to the past tense of a strong verb. Unlike strong verbs however, the past tense is formed with a dental suffix (unless the stem ends in nn).

Infinitive	1st p. pres. sing.	1st p. past sing.	1st p. past plu.	Past participle
eiga	á	átti	áttum	átt
kunna	kann	kunni	kunnum	kunnað
mega	má	mátti	máttum	mátt
muna	man	mundi	mundum	munað
unna	ann	unni	unnum	unnað
þurfa	þarf	þurfti	þurftum	þurft

munu and skulu

Two commonly used verbs in this group, munu and skulu, are particularly odd because:

• Their infinitive ends in -u;
• They are “defective” – they’re missing a past indicative, although they do have a past subjunctive. They also lack a past participle.

Infinitive	1st p. pres. sing.	Subjunctive 1st p. past sing.	Subjunctive 1st p. past plu.
munu	mun	mundi/myndi	mundum/myndum
skulu	skal	skyldi	skyldum

note

Like the great 🌭 pulsa/pylsa debate, the mundi/myndi divide is one of the greatest chasms dividing Icelanders today. Some speakers prefer one form, some prefer the other. Pick the one you like best and use it consistently.

Mixed inflection

These verbs appear to be strong in the present tense, but weak in the past tense.

Infinitive	1st p. pres. sing.	1st p. past sing.	1st p. past plu.	Past participle
flá	flæ/flái	fláði	fláðum	fláð
heyja	hey/heyi	háði	háðum	háð
ná	næ	náði	náðum	náð
þiggja	þigg	þáði	þáðum	þegið
þvo	þvæ	þvoði	þvoðum	þvegið

Fully irregular

🚨 Danger zone!

Infinitive	1st p. pres. sing.	1st p. past sing.	1st p. past plu.	Past participle
kaupa	kaupi	keypti	keypti	keypt
sækja	sæki	sótti	sóttum	sótt
valda	veld	olli	ollum	valdið
vilja	vil*	vildi	vildum	viljað
vita	veit	vissi	vissum	vitað
yrkja	yrki	orti	ortum	ort
þykja	þyki	þótti	þóttum	þótt

note

Vilja has distinct first person and third person forms: ég vil vs. hann/hún/hán/það vill. This is such an odd feature that some Icelanders say ég vill, in a futile attempt to make the verb slightly more regular.

vera

Vera deserves its own special mention for having the most irregular conjugation of any Icelandic verb 💁‍♀️. It only gets away with it because it’s used in almost every sentence. Vera is the only verb that:

• Doesn’t use the infinitive for the 3rd person plural present tense (þeir eru);
• Has its own completely separate paradigm in the present subjunctive that’s not based on the infinitive stem (for example, ég held að það sé góð hugmynd);
• Has its own 🦄 optative (“wishing”) form, separate from the subjunctive (Guð veri með þér).

Present tense

Singular	1st	ég	er	Plural	við	erum
	2nd	þú	ert		þið	eruð
	3rd	hann hún hán það	er		þeir þær þau	eru

Past tense

Singular	1st	ég	var	Plural	við	vorum
	2nd	þú	varst		þið	voruð
	3rd	hann hún hán það	var		þeir þær þau	voru

Present subjunctive

Singular	1st	ég	sé	Plural	við	séum
	2nd	þú	sért		þið	séuð
	3rd	hann hún hán það	sé		þeir þær þau	séu

Past subjunctive

Singular	1st	ég	væri	Plural	við	værum
	2nd	þú	værir		þið	væruð
	3rd	hann hún hán það	væri		þeir þær þau	væru

Other forms

• Past participle – verið
• Imperative – vertu (singular), verið (plural)
• Optative – veri (used only in fixed expressions – otherwise use the subjunctive)