biðja ("to ask; to pray") is a strong Class 5 j-verb, and the two things that trip learners are not in the paradigm at all — they are in its case frame. First: you ask a person in the accusative and the thing with um — biðja einhvern um eitthvað ("ask someone for something"), where English speakers wrongly expect a dative person. Second: its middle voice biðjast takes the genitive in the everyday phrase biðjast afsökunar ("apologise," literally "ask oneself of forgiveness"). Get those two right and biðja is easy. The conjugation itself follows Class 5: the j surfaces in the infinitive and plural (biðja, biðjum) but drops in the singular present (bið, biður); the past splits short-a singular bað from long-á plural báðu, and the supine is beðið.
Conjugation
Class: strong, Class 5 (a j-present verb). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef beðið "I have asked." Object case: accusative person + um (biðja einhvern um eitthvað).
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að biðja |
| 1sg present | bið |
| 1sg past | bað |
| 3pl past | báðu |
| Supine | beðið |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | bið | bað |
| þú | biður | baðst |
| hann / hún / það | biður | bað |
| við | biðjum | báðum |
| þið | biðjið | báðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | biðja | báðu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | biðji | bæði |
| þú | biðjir | bæðir |
| hann / hún / það | biðji | bæði |
| við | biðjum | bæðum |
| þið | biðjið | bæðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | biðji | bæðu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | biddu! (= bið + þú) |
| Imperative (þið) | biðjið! |
| Supine | beðið |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | beðinn / beðin / beðið |
| Present participle | biðjandi |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | biðjast — "to ask for oneself" (biðjast afsökunar 'apologise') |
The j-verb pattern: bið but biðjum
Class 5 j-verbs hide the j in the present singular and reveal it elsewhere. Read the present down the column: bið, biður, biður (no j) in the singular, then biðjum, biðjið, biðja (j back) in the plural. The infinitive keeps it too — að biðja. This is the same alternation you see in liggja ("lie": ég ligg but við liggjum) and þiggja ("accept": ég þigg but við þiggjum). The past drops the j entirely and runs the strong split: short a in the singular bað, long á in the plural báðu.
| Verb | 1sg present | 1pl present | Past sg. | Past pl. | Supine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| biðja (ask) | bið | biðjum | bað | báðu | beðið |
| liggja (lie) | ligg | liggjum | lá | lágu | legið |
Ég bið þig um eitt: ekki segja neinum frá þessu.
I'm asking you one thing: don't tell anyone about this. Present singular bið (no j) + accusative þig + um.
Þau báðu okkur um að bíða aðeins lengur.
They asked us to wait a little longer. Past plural báðu (long á); accusative okkur + um að + infinitive.
Hann bað mig afsökunar á því sem hann sagði.
He apologised to me for what he said. bað (past sg.) + accusative mig + genitive afsökunar — the apology frame; á því = 'for that'.
The object frame: biðja einhvern um eitthvað
This is the headline. English "ask" makes the person look like an indirect object ("ask someone"), so learners reach for the dative. Icelandic does the opposite: the person is accusative and the thing asked for is introduced by um. So "I ask you for help" is ég bið þig um hjálp — þig (accusative), then um hjálp. Not \ég bið þér (dative), not *ég bið þig hjálp (no *um).
When what you ask for is an action, the frame becomes object control: biðja einhvern að + infinitive — "ask someone to do something." The accusative person is understood as the subject of the infinitive: ég bað hann að hringja ("I asked him to call") — hann both is the object of biðja and does the hringja. (The grammar of this shared subject: complex/control-pro.)
Má ég biðja þig um greiða?
May I ask you a favour? biðja + accusative þig + um greiða — the person is accusative, the thing comes with um.
Ég bað hana að loka glugganum.
I asked her to close the window. Object control: biðja + accusative hana + að + infinitive loka; hana is the understood subject of loka.
Gætirðu beðið hann að hringja í mig?
Could you ask him to call me? Conditional request gætirðu + biðja's supine beðið + accusative hann + að + infinitive.
Honest footnote: an older frame puts the thing in the genitive instead of using um — biðja einhvern einhvers (e.g. biðja sér griða, "ask for mercy for oneself"; biðja einhvern bónar, "ask someone a favour"). This is (literary / fixed-phrase) and survives mainly in set expressions; for everyday B1 speech, use the um-frame above. Don't go hunting for genitives every time you ask for something.
biðja fyrir and the religious sense
biðja also means "pray," and the construction shifts. To pray for someone is biðja fyrir + dative: biðja fyrir e-m ("pray for someone"). To pray to God is biðja til Guðs (genitive after til). And "say one's prayers" is the reflexive-flavoured fara með bænirnar sínar or simply biðja bænirnar. Keep "pray for" (biðja fyrir + dative) distinct from "ask for" (biðja um + accusative thing).
Amma bað alltaf fyrir okkur á kvöldin.
Grandma always prayed for us in the evenings. biðja fyrir + dative okkur ('pray for') — distinct from biðja um ('ask for').
Hún settist niður og bað í hljóði.
She sat down and prayed in silence. Intransitive biðja 'pray'; bað = past singular.
The middle voice: biðjast (+ genitive!)
The -st middle biðjast is high-frequency and carries a genitive object — a real surprise. The everyday phrase is biðjast afsökunar ("to apologise"), literally "ask for oneself of forgiveness," where afsökunar is the genitive of afsökun ("apology, excuse"). Likewise biðjast vægðar ("beg for mercy," genitive vægðar) and biðjast fyrir ("say one's prayers"). It conjugates as biðja + -st: present biðst, past singular baðst, past plural báðust, supine beðist.
Ég biðst afsökunar á þessu öllu saman.
I apologise for all of this. Middle biðjast + genitive afsökunar ('apologise'); á því = 'for that'.
Hann baðst afsökunar en það var of seint.
He apologised but it was too late. Past middle baðst + genitive afsökunar.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég bið þér um hjálp.
Wrong case — the person you ask is accusative, not dative: bið þig, not bið þér.
✅ Ég bið þig um hjálp.
I'm asking you for help. (accusative person: þig + um)
The person asked is accusative (þig, hann, hana, okkur), never dative. This is biðja's defining trap.
❌ Ég bið þig hjálp.
Missing 'um' — the thing asked for needs the preposition um: bið þig um hjálp.
✅ Ég bið þig um hjálp.
I'm asking you for help. (the thing comes with um)
Don't drop um. The frame is biðja einhvern um eitthvað — the thing is always introduced by um.
❌ Ég biðaði hann að koma.
Regularising a strong verb — biðja has no weak '-aði' past. The past singular is bað.
✅ Ég bað hann að koma.
I asked him to come. (strong past singular bað)
biðja is strong: there is no *biðaði. Singular past bað, plural báðu, supine beðið.
❌ Ég biðst afsökun.
Wrong case in the middle — biðjast takes the genitive: afsökunar, not the nominative afsökun.
✅ Ég biðst afsökunar.
I apologise. (biðjast + genitive afsökunar)
biðjast afsökunar ("apologise") needs the genitive afsökunar. The nominative afsökun there is a classic slip.
❌ Ég biðj þig um eitt.
Wrong present — the j drops in the singular: bið, not '*biðj'. The j returns only in the plural (biðjum).
✅ Ég bið þig um eitt.
I ask you one thing. (present singular bið, no j)
The present singular has no j: bið, biður, biður. The j appears only in the infinitive and present plural (biðja, biðjum, biðjið).
Key Takeaways
- biðja is a strong Class 5 j-verb: present bið / biður (no j, singular) vs biðjum / biðjið / biðja (j, plural); past bað (sg.) / báðu (pl.); supine beðið.
- The defining frame is biðja einhvern (ACC) um eitthvað — accusative person, um for the thing. Never the dative person English speakers expect.
- For an action it's object control: biðja einhvern að
- infinitive (ég bað hann að hringja).
- "Pray for" is biðja fyrir + dative (distinct from biðja um); "pray to" is biðja til + genitive.
- The middle biðjast afsökunar ("apologise") takes the genitive afsökunar — the everyday, idiomatic apology. Auxiliary throughout is hafa (ég hef beðið).
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