gefa ("to give") is a strong Class-5 verb — the same e–a–á–e family as lesa — but the reason it earns its own card is its syntax, not its vowels. gefa is ditransitive: it takes two objects, and Icelandic marks them with two different cases. You give someone (dative) something (accusative): gefa *einhverjum (dat.) eitthvað (acc.). English hides this completely — "give him the book" looks like two identical noun phrases — so the case assignment is the single most important thing to learn about this verb. It also lives in two high-frequency idioms: *gefa sér "allow oneself (time)" and the middle voice gefast upp "give up."
Conjugation
Class: strong, class 5 (ablaut e–a–á–e). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef gefið "I have given." Governs: dative (recipient) + accusative (gift).
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að gefa |
| Preterite 1sg | gaf |
| Preterite 3pl | gáfu |
| Supine | gefið |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | gef | gaf |
| þú | gefur | gafst |
| hann / hún / það | gefur | gaf |
| við | gefum | gáfum |
| þið | gefið | gáfuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | gefa | gáfu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | gefi | gæfi |
| þú | gefir | gæfir |
| hann / hún / það | gefi | gæfi |
| við | gefum | gæfum |
| þið | gefið | gæfuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | gefi | gæfu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | gefðu / gef |
| Imperative (þið) | gefið! |
| Supine | gefið |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | gefinn / gefin / gefið |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | gefast (gefst, gafst, gefist) — esp. gefast upp "give up" |
The vowels: e–a–á–e
Present singular fronts to e (gef, gefur); the past singular has short a (gaf); the past plural has long, accented á (gáfum, gáfuð, gáfu); and the supine returns to e (gefið). As with lesa, the stem vowel is e / a / á, so gefa never takes u-umlaut — there is no short a in the plural endings to convert.
Ég gef yngri systur minni gömlu fötin mín.
I give my younger sister my old clothes.
Amma gaf mér þennan hring.
Grandma gave me this ring.
Þau gáfu okkur fallega málverkið.
They gave us the beautiful painting.
The big one: gefa + dative + accusative
This is the heart of the verb. gefa takes two objects: the recipient in the dative and the gift in the accusative. The order is normally recipient first: gefa *honum (dat.) bók (acc.) "give him a book." English speakers don't have to think about case, so the mistake is to put both objects in the same (accusative-looking) form. In Icelandic the recipient *must be dative — that's why "give me" is gefa mér (dat.), not "gefa mig" (acc.).
Gefðu mér eina mínútu, ég er að klára.
Give me one minute, I'm just finishing. (mér = dative recipient)
Hann gaf konunni sinni rauðar rósir í afmælisgjöf.
He gave his wife red roses as a birthday present. (konunni = dat., rósir = acc.)
gefa sér — allow oneself (time, etc.)
The reflexive gefa sér (with the dative reflexive sér) means "to give/allow oneself" something — most often time: gefa sér tíma "take/allow oneself time." It frames the gift as something you grant yourself, and it reuses the verb's own ditransitive frame — the recipient slot (dative) is simply filled by the reflexive sér. English reaches for a different verb here ("take your time," "allow yourself"), so this is one to memorise as a fixed phrase rather than translate word for word.
Þú verður að gefa þér tíma til að jafna þig.
You have to give yourself time to recover.
gefast upp — give up (middle voice)
The middle voice gefast chiefly appears in gefast upp, "to give up, to surrender." Note the forms: present ég gefst upp, past ég gafst upp — and watch the collision, because gafst is also the regular past "you (sg.) gave" (þú gafst). Context separates them.
Ég gefst aldrei upp svona auðveldlega.
I never give up this easily. (middle voice gefast upp)
Þau gáfust upp eftir tvær klukkustundir.
They gave up after two hours.
Common Mistakes
❌ Gefðu mig vatnið.
Incorrect — the recipient is dative: gefðu MÉR, not mig (accusative).
✅ Gefðu mér vatnið.
Give me the water.
❌ Ég gefaði henni bók.
Incorrect — gefa is strong; the past is gaf, never a weak -aði form.
✅ Ég gaf henni bók.
I gave her a book.
❌ Við gafum þeim peninga.
Incorrect — the past plural takes the accented vowel: gáfum, not gafum.
✅ Við gáfum þeim peninga.
We gave them money.
❌ Ég hef gaf of mikið af mér.
Incorrect — the perfect needs the supine gefið, not the past tense gaf.
✅ Ég hef gefið of mikið af mér.
I have given too much of myself.
Key Takeaways
- gefa – gaf – gáfu – gefið — strong Class 5, the e–a–á–e pattern (same vowels as lesa).
- Ditransitive: recipient in the dative, gift in the accusative — gefa *mér (dat.) bók (acc.)*. This is the must-learn point; English hides the cases.
- Past plural is long/accented (gáfum, gáfuð, gáfu) vs. short past singular (gaf). No u-umlaut.
- Perfect uses hafa + gefið: ég hef gefið.
- gefa sér (+ dat. reflexive) = "allow oneself (time)"; gefast upp (middle voice) = "give up."
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