fylgja ("to follow, to accompany") is the verb for tagging along, seeing someone off, and keeping track of how things develop — and like so many Icelandic verbs of personal relation, it takes a dative object. You follow to someone: fylgja einhverjum. The dative is not optional or stylistic; it is the verb's fixed government, so "follow her" is fylgja henni (dative), never *fylgja hana (accusative). The verb also fans out into two high-frequency patterns you must know: fylgja eftir ("follow up, keep pace with"), and the middle-voice fylgjast með ("keep up with, follow" the news, a show, developments) — the single most common way Icelanders say they are following something in the modern sense. This page covers the j-verb paradigm, the dative, and both extensions.
Conjugation
Class: weak, Class 2, a j-verb (the j of the stem surfaces before back vowels a/u but drops before the front vowel i). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef fylgt "I have followed." The stem is fylg-; the preterite takes -di → fylgdi, and the supine is fylgt. Watch the j: it appears in fylgja and fylgjum but not in fylgi(r) or fylgið.
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að fylgja |
| 1sg present | fylgi |
| 1sg past | fylgdi |
| 3pl past | fylgdu |
| Supine | fylgt |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | fylgi | fylgdi |
| þú | fylgir | fylgdir |
| hann / hún / það | fylgir | fylgdi |
| við | fylgjum | fylgdum |
| þið | fylgið | fylgduð |
| þeir / þær / þau | fylgja | fylgdu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | fylgi | fylgdi |
| þú | fylgir | fylgdir |
| hann / hún / það | fylgi | fylgdi |
| við | fylgjum | fylgdum |
| þið | fylgið | fylgduð |
| þeir / þær / þau | fylgi | fylgdu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | fylgdu |
| Imperative (þið) | fylgið! |
| Supine | fylgt |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | fylgdur / fylgd / fylgt |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | fylgjast — "follow / keep up (with)", chiefly fylgjast með |
The headline fact: fylgja takes the dative
fylgja governs the dative. You follow to a person or thing. So henni (dative of hún), honum (dative of hann), þér (dative of þú): ég fylgi þér ("I'll follow you / I'll come with you"). English "follow him/her/you" looks like a plain object, so you must remember to decline into the dative.
Fylgdu mér, ég veit stystu leiðina.
Follow me, I know the shortest way. (imperative fylgdu + dative mér)
Hundurinn fylgir henni hvert sem hún fer.
The dog follows her wherever she goes. (henni = dative)
Má ég fylgja þér heim? Það er orðið dimmt.
Can I walk you home? It's gotten dark. (fylgja þér heim = accompany you home)
Note that second sense: fylgja very often means accompany / see someone somewhere, not merely walk behind them. Fylgja gestum til dyra is "to see the guests to the door"; fylgja barni í skólann is "to walk a child to school."
Hún fylgdi ömmu sinni á flugvöllinn og kvaddi hana þar.
She accompanied her grandmother to the airport and said goodbye to her there. (ömmu sinni = dative; accompany sense)
fylgja eftir — 'follow up, keep pace with'
fylgja eftir + dative means "to follow up on, to pursue, to keep pace with" — to not let something drop. The eftir is the particle of the idiom; the object stays dative. It is the verb of following up on a decision, an idea, or a lead, and of keeping up with someone who is moving faster than you.
Við þurfum að fylgja þessari hugmynd eftir áður en hún gleymist.
We need to follow up on this idea before it gets forgotten. (fylgja eftir + dative þessari hugmynd)
Litli bróðir minn náði ekki að fylgja okkur eftir upp brekkuna.
My little brother couldn't keep pace with us up the hill. (keep pace = fylgja eftir)
fylgjast með — the everyday 'keep up with, follow'
When you want to say you follow the news, a TV series, a football league, or what a friend is up to, the verb is the middle voice fylgjast með + dative. This is the modern "follow" in the sense of stay informed about — and it is extremely common. The -st gives it a "keep oneself alongside" flavour, and með ("with") governs the dative as always.
Ég fylgist vel með fréttum af loftslagsmálum.
I follow the news about climate issues closely. (fylgjast með + dative fréttum)
Fylgist þið með þessari þáttaröð? Hún er æðisleg.
Are you following this series? It's amazing. (2pl present fylgist með)
Hann fylgdist með leiknum í útvarpinu á leiðinni heim.
He followed the match on the radio on the way home. (past fylgdist með + dative leiknum)
Why dative?
fylgja belongs to the old layer of verbs meaning "go along with / be attached to," and such verbs of accompaniment regularly take the dative in Icelandic — you move alongside someone, you do not act on them. The same logic underlies the noun fylgd ("escort, company") and fylgi ("support, following," as a politician's fylgi). Thinking of fylgja as "be in the company of (dative)" rather than "do something to (accusative)" makes the case feel natural and predicts the dative for the whole family of words.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég fylgi hana heim.
Incorrect — fylgja takes the dative: henni, not the accusative hana.
✅ Ég fylgi henni heim.
I'll walk her home.
❌ Fylgji mér!
Incorrect — there is no j before i, and the imperative is fylgdu. Say fylgdu mér.
✅ Fylgdu mér!
Follow me!
❌ Ég fylgi með fréttirnar.
Incorrect — the 'follow the news' sense is the middle voice fylgjast með + dative: fylgist með fréttunum.
✅ Ég fylgist með fréttunum.
I follow the news.
❌ Við fylgjum hugmyndina eftir.
Incorrect — fylgja eftir governs the dative: hugmyndinni, not the accusative hugmyndina.
✅ Við fylgjum hugmyndinni eftir.
We're following up on the idea.
❌ Þau fylgdi okkur á stöðina.
Incorrect — the 3rd-person PLURAL past is fylgdu, not the singular fylgdi.
✅ Þau fylgdu okkur á stöðina.
They accompanied us to the station.
Key Takeaways
- fylgi / fylgir / fylgdi / fylgt — a weak Class-2 j-verb: the j shows up before back vowels (fylgja, fylgjum) and drops before i (fylgi, fylgir, fylgið).
- The headline rule: fylgja takes a DATIVE object — fylgja henni, honum, þér — and often means accompany / see someone somewhere, not just trail behind.
- fylgja eftir
- dative = "follow up on / keep pace with" (fylgja hugmyndinni eftir).
- The middle fylgjast með
- dative = the everyday "keep up with / follow" the news, a show, developments (fylgjast með fréttunum).
- All three patterns are dative — only the particle changes. Contrast with accusative verbs of acting on someone.
- Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef fylgt.
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