lesa ("to read") looks deceptively tame — short, regular-seeming — but it is a strong verb that quietly umlauts its past tense: les, las, lásum, lesið. It is one of the highest-frequency verbs in the language (you read books, signs, messages, the news), and it takes a plain accusative object, so it is a clean place to practise the "verb + accusative thing" pattern that runs through Icelandic.
Conjugation
Class: strong, class 5 (ablaut e–a–á, present les). The present singular keeps e (les), the past singular has a (las), and the past plural lengthens to á (lásum), with the supine lesið. Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef lesið "I have read."
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að lesa |
| 3sg present | les |
| 3sg past | las |
| Supine | lesið |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | les | las |
| þú | lest | last |
| hann / hún / það | les | las |
| við | lesum | lásum |
| þið | lesið | lásuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | lesa | lásu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | lesi | læsi |
| þú | lesir | læsir |
| hann / hún / það | lesi | læsi |
| við | lesum | læsum |
| þið | lesið | læsuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | lesi | læsu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | les! / lestu (with attached pronoun) |
| Imperative (þið) | lesið! |
| Supine | lesið |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | lesinn / lesin / lesið |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | lesast (rare; "be read," impersonal) |
Everyday present: les / lest / les
The 1sg and 3sg are identical — both les — while þú gets lest. lesa takes a bare accusative object: the thing you read, with no preposition. This is the pattern you will reuse with bók (a book), blaðið (the newspaper), skilaboðin (the messages).
Ég les alltaf smá fyrir svefninn.
I always read a little before bed.
Lest þú á íslensku eða ensku?
Do you read in Icelandic or English?
Hún les hraðar en allir í bekknum.
She reads faster than anyone in the class.
Reading words: bók, blað, skilaboð
A handful of objects come up constantly with lesa. To read aloud is lesa upphátt; to read to someone (e.g. a child) is lesa fyrir + accusative person.
Pabbi les fyrir börnin á hverju kvöldi.
Dad reads to the children every evening.
Geturðu lesið þetta upphátt fyrir mig?
Can you read this aloud for me?
Past tense and the perfect
Ég las þrjár bækur í sumarfríinu.
I read three books over the summer holiday.
Við lásum sömu greinina og urðum ósammála.
We read the same article and disagreed.
Hefur þú lesið Njálu? Hún er löng en mögnuð.
Have you read Njáls saga? It's long but stunning.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég lest bók.
Incorrect — with ég and hann the form is les; lest is the þú form.
✅ Ég les bók.
I'm reading a book.
❌ Ég las bók núna.
Incorrect — las is past; for 'now' use the present les.
✅ Ég les bók núna.
I'm reading a book right now.
❌ Við lasum greinina.
Incorrect — the past plural lengthens to lásum (with á).
✅ Við lásum greinina.
We read the article.
❌ Ég hef las hana.
Incorrect — the perfect uses the supine lesið, not the past las.
✅ Ég hef lesið hana.
I have read it.
Key Takeaways
- lesa / les / las / lesið — strong class 5; mind the long á in lásum, lásuð, lásu.
- Present: ég/hann les, but þú lest; don't confuse present lest with past last.
- lesa takes a bare accusative object — les bók, les blaðið — no preposition.
- "Read aloud" = lesa upphátt; "read to someone" = lesa fyrir
- accusative.
- The imperative attaches the pronoun: lestu ("read!").
Now practice Icelandic
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- lesa (to read)A2 — Full conjugation of the strong Class-5 verb lesa (les / las / lásu / lesið), with the e–a–á–e vowel pattern, the long-vowel past plural lásum, the supine lesið for the perfect, and the idiom lesa um (acc) 'read about'.
- The Present Tense: First VerbsA1 — Your survival kit of present-tense verbs — vera, tala, eiga, koma, fara — with the core endings -∅/-r/-r and the single most freeing A1 fact: the present already means both 'I speak' and 'I am speaking', so there is no progressive to hunt for.
- Daily Routine and Habitual ActionsA2 — The verbs and time phrases of a typical day — vakna, fara á fætur, fara í vinnuna, koma heim, fara að sofa — plus the habitual present and the tricky 'morgun' trio (á morgun / í morgun / á morgnana).