geyma (to keep, store) | Icelandic Grammar

geyma ("to keep, store, hold on to") is the verb for putting something somewhere safe and leaving it there — keeping leftovers in the fridge, storing boxes in the attic, holding on to a present until the right moment. It is a clean weak Class-2 verb (geymi / geymdi / geymt) with a stable stem and no u-umlaut, so the conjugation is easy. The real work is semantic: English "keep," "hold," and "save" all crowd into this space, and Icelandic splits them across geyma, halda, and spara. Choosing the right one is where learners need help — and where this card earns its keep.

Conjugation

Class: weak, Class 2 (the -di preterite, the gleyma type). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef geymt "I have kept." The stem geym- never changes; only the endings move. (It rhymes with — but must not be confused with — gleyma "to forget.")

Principal parts
Infinitive	að geyma
1sg present	geymi
1sg past	geymdi
3pl past	geymdu
Supine	geymt

Person	Present (nútíð)	Past (þátíð)
ég	geymi	geymdi
þú	geymir	geymdir
hann / hún / það	geymir	geymdi
við	geymum	geymdum
þið	geymið	geymduð
þeir / þær / þau	geyma	geymdu

Person	Present subjunctive	Past subjunctive
ég	geymi	geymdi
þú	geymir	geymdir
hann / hún / það	geymi	geymdi
við	geymum	geymdum
þið	geymið	geymduð
þeir / þær / þau	geymi	geymdu

Non-finite & imperative
Imperative (þú)	geymdu!
Imperative (þið)	geymið!
Supine	geymt
Past participle (m/f/n)	geymdur / geymd / geymt
Middle voice (miðmynd)	geymast — "to keep, last, be saved for later"

💡

The stem vowel is the diphthong ey, which never u-umlauts, so the 1pl present is geymum (not "geymöm") and the verb stays geym- throughout. Your only job is to keep geyma ("keep") apart from its near-twin gleyma ("forget") — one letter, opposite meanings, and both Class-2 with a -di past.

geyma + accusative — keep or store something

geyma takes an ordinary direct object in the accusative (a relief after the dative verbs). The core meaning is put away and keep: store food, store belongings, hold on to something for later.

Við geymum kartöflurnar í kjallaranum yfir veturinn.

We store the potatoes in the cellar over the winter.

Geymdu afganginn — ég klára hann á morgun.

Keep the leftovers — I'll finish them tomorrow.

Hún geymdi gamla bréfin í skókassa undir rúminu.

She kept the old letters in a shoebox under the bed.

"Save for later" — geyma sér / geyma þangað til

A very common nuance is saving something for later — deliberately not using it now. Icelandic expresses this with geyma plus a time expression (þangað til "until," til seinna "for later"), or with the dative reflexive geyma sér ("keep something for oneself").

Ég ætla að geyma þetta þangað til um jólin.

I'm going to save this until Christmas.

Geymdu þér smá pláss fyrir eftirréttinn!

Save yourself a little room for dessert!

geyma vs. halda vs. spara — three English "keeps"

This is the heart of the card. English overloads "keep / hold / save"; Icelandic divides the labour:

Verb	Core sense	Typical object
geyma	store, put away, hold on to (over time)	food, belongings, a secret, a seat
halda	hold (in the hand), hold (an event), maintain	an object you grip; a party; a speed
spara	save up, economise, not spend	money, time, effort, resources

So you geyma leftovers in the fridge, you heldur on a railing with your hand, and you sparar money for a trip. Map the English "keep" onto geyma when the idea is storage over time; onto halda when it is physical holding or maintaining; onto spara when it is not spending.

Ég geymi peningana í banka en ég spara þá fyrir ferðina.

I keep the money in a bank, but I'm saving it for the trip.

Geturðu haldið á töskunni á meðan ég opna dyrnar?

Can you hold the bag while I open the door?

The middle voice: geymast

The -st form geymast ("to keep, last, be kept") makes the stored thing the subject — it is how you say food "keeps well" or something "will keep until later," with no explicit agent. This is the natural way to talk about shelf life.

Þetta geymist vel í frysti í marga mánuði.

This keeps well in the freezer for many months.

Áhyggjurnar geymast — við tölum um þetta seinna.

The worries will keep — we'll talk about this later.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ég held matinn í ísskápnum.

Incorrect — 'keep food in the fridge' is storage, so it's geymi, not held; halda is physical holding.

✅ Ég geymi matinn í ísskápnum.

I keep the food in the fridge.

❌ Hún geymaði bréfin í kassa.

Incorrect — geyma is a Class-2 -di verb, not -aði; the past is geymdi.

✅ Hún geymdi bréfin í kassa.

She kept the letters in a box.

❌ Ég er að spara afganginn í ísskápnum.

Incorrect — spara is for money/resources; keeping leftovers is geyma.

✅ Ég er að geyma afganginn í ísskápnum.

I'm keeping the leftovers in the fridge.

❌ Ég geymdi alveg að hringja í þig.

Incorrect — that's gleyma 'forget' (gleymdi), not geyma 'keep'; one letter flips the meaning.

✅ Ég gleymdi alveg að hringja í þig.

I completely forgot to call you.

Key Takeaways

geymi / geymdi / geymdu / geymt — a regular weak Class-2 verb with a -di past and a stable ey stem (no u-umlaut).
geyma + accusative = store, put away, hold on to over time; geyma sér = save something for oneself / for later.
The three-way split: geyma (store over time) vs. halda (physically hold / maintain) vs. spara (save money/resources).
Middle voice geymast = "keep, last, be saved for later" — the verb for shelf life.
Watch the one-letter trap: geyma ("keep") ≠ gleyma ("forget"). Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef geymt.

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