flytja ("to move, to transport, to perform/deliver") looks like an ordinary weak verb until you put it in the past tense, where the stem vowel quietly changes: present flyt, but past flutti — y becomes u. This y→u shift is the one thing that trips up every learner, and it is the reason flytja gets its own page rather than being lumped in with tala. The verb also splits into two distinct meanings depending on whether it has an object: flytja on its own means "to move (house), relocate," while flytja + accusative means "to transport / carry / deliver" something. Get the vowel and the object right and the rest falls into place.
Conjugation
Class: weak, j-verb (the -ti preterite with a j in the stem before back vowels). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef flutt "I have moved." The defining feature is the y → u alternation: the present keeps y (flyt, flytjum), the past switches to u (flutti, fluttum), and so does the supine (flutt).
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að flytja |
| 1sg present | flyt |
| 1sg past | flutti |
| Supine | flutt |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | flyt | flutti |
| þú | flytur | fluttir |
| hann / hún / það | flytur | flutti |
| við | flytjum | fluttum |
| þið | flytjið | fluttuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | flytja | fluttu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | flytji | flytti |
| þú | flytjir | flyttir |
| hann / hún / það | flytji | flytti |
| við | flytjum | flyttum |
| þið | flytjið | flyttuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | flytji | flyttu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | flyttu |
| Imperative (þið) | flytjið! |
| Supine | flutt |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | fluttur / flutt / flutt |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | flytjast — "to relocate / be moved" |
flytja (no object) — "to move house, relocate"
Used intransitively, flytja is what you do when you change where you live. The destination takes til + genitive (flytja til Reykjavíkur) or á / í + accusative for the direction you move into (flytja inn í nýja íbúð). The phrasal flytja inn ("move in") and flytja út ("move out") describe the household event itself.
Við fluttum til Íslands fyrir tveimur árum.
We moved to Iceland two years ago.
Hún er að flytja inn í nýju íbúðina um helgina.
She's moving into the new apartment this weekend.
Ætlar þú að flytja út úr foreldrahúsum bráðum?
Are you going to move out of your parents' place soon?
flytja + accusative — "to transport, carry, deliver"
Give flytja a direct object in the accusative and the meaning shifts to moving things (or words): transporting goods, carrying cargo, or delivering a speech or lecture. The fixed phrase flytja ræðu ("give/deliver a speech") is one every learner should know — Icelandic uses flytja, not "give," for the act of presenting a speech aloud.
Skipið flytur fisk til útlanda.
The ship transports fish abroad.
Forsætisráðherra flutti ræðu á þjóðhátíðardaginn.
The prime minister gave a speech on the national holiday.
Geturðu flutt þessa kassa upp á þriðju hæð?
Can you carry these boxes up to the third floor?
flytja inn / flytja út — "import / export"
In commerce, flytja inn = "import" and flytja út = "export" — the same particles as "move in/out," but with goods as the object. The supine appears constantly in the news: innflutt "imported," útflutt "exported."
Ísland flytur út mikið af áli og fiski.
Iceland exports a lot of aluminium and fish.
Þeir flytja inn vörur frá Evrópu.
They import goods from Europe.
The middle voice: flytjast
The -st form flytjast turns the action inward — "to relocate, to be relocated/moved." It is more formal or written than plain flytja for "move house," but it is the natural choice when something gets moved without a clear mover: embættið fluttist til Akureyrar "the office was relocated to Akureyri."
Höfuðstöðvarnar fluttust til Akureyrar árið 2010.
The headquarters relocated to Akureyri in 2010.
Common Mistakes
❌ Við flyttum til Íslands í fyrra.
Incorrect — the past tense changes y→u, so it's fluttum, not flyttum (which is the past subjunctive)
✅ Við fluttum til Íslands í fyrra.
We moved to Iceland last year.
❌ Ég hef flytt þrisvar á þessu ári.
Incorrect — the supine also takes u: it's flutt, not flytt
✅ Ég hef flutt þrisvar á þessu ári.
I've moved three times this year.
❌ Ráðherrann gaf ræðu í gær.
Incorrect — Icelandic 'delivers' a speech with flytja, not gefa ('give')
✅ Ráðherrann flutti ræðu í gær.
The minister gave a speech yesterday.
❌ Hún flytaði í nýja íbúð.
Incorrect — flytja is a j-verb with a -ti past, not a regularised -aði; it's flutti
✅ Hún flutti í nýja íbúð.
She moved into a new apartment.
Key Takeaways
- flyt / flytur / flutti / flutt — a weak j-verb with the signature y→u shift: present keeps y, past and supine take u.
- On its own, flytja = "move house, relocate"; with an accusative object, "transport / carry / deliver."
- flytja ræðu = "give a speech"; flytja inn / út = "import / export."
- Middle voice flytjast = "to be relocated / relocate" (more formal/written).
- Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef flutt.
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- Weak Verbs: The Four ClassesA2 — The weak verb system — verbs that build their past tense with a dental suffix (-aði, -di, -ði, -ti) instead of a vowel change — split into four classes by their thematic vowel and present pattern, including the Class-4 j-verbs that hide a strong-looking e→a shift inside a weak conjugation.