líða is one of the most quietly important verbs in the language, because it carries the standard way of saying how you feel. When an Icelander asks hvernig líður þér? and you answer mér líður vel, you are not saying "I am good" — you are saying, structurally, "to-me it-feels well," with yourself in the dative and no grammatical subject at all. This impersonal, dative-experiencer pattern is the heart of the verb, and it is exactly the construction English speakers misbuild, because English makes the feeler the subject (I feel well). líða is also the verb for time passing (tíminn líður "time goes by") and feeds the middle líðast "be tolerated." It is a strong Class 1 verb: líða – leið – liðu – liðið, the same í – ei – i – i shape as bíta and skína.
Conjugation
Class: strong, Class 1 (the bíta type), series í – ei – i – i: present líður, preterite singular leið, preterite plural liðu, supine liðið. Auxiliary: hafa — það hefur liðið yfir hann "he has fainted" — though in the dative-experiencer sense the perfect is rare. Watch the orthography closely: the present and infinitive have í + ð (líða, líður), the past singular has the diphthong ei (leið), and the past plural and supine drop to short i (liðu, liðið). The ð is never word-initial and never written d.
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að líða |
| 3sg present | líður |
| 3sg past | leið |
| 3pl past | liðu |
| Supine | liðið |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | líð | leið |
| þú | líður | leiðst |
| hann / hún / það | líður | leið |
| við | líðum | liðum |
| þið | líðið | liðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | líða | liðu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | líði | liði |
| þú | líðir | liðir |
| hann / hún / það | líði | liði |
| við | líðum | liðum |
| þið | líðið | liðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | líði | liðu |
| Non-finite & middle voice | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | líddu (rare; the verb is mostly impersonal) |
| Supine | liðið |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | liðinn / liðin / liðið |
| Present participle | líðandi (e.g. á líðandi stundu "at the present moment") |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | líðast — "to be tolerated, be allowed" |
Use 1: the dative experiencer — mér líður vel
This is the construction that defines the verb. To say how someone feels — well, badly, strangely, at home — you put the person in the dative and leave líða in the impersonal 3rd singular líður (or past leið). The feeling itself is an adverb (vel, illa, undarlega), because there is no nominative subject for an adjective to agree with. The literal shape is "to-X it-feels well."
Hvernig líður þér í dag? — Mér líður miklu betur, takk.
How are you feeling today? — I feel much better, thanks. — þér / mér are DATIVE; líður stays 3sg impersonal.
Honum leið illa allan daginn.
He felt awful all day. — past leið; honum is dative; illa is the adverb 'badly'.
Mér líður best heima hjá mér.
I feel best at home. — superlative adverb best; still dative mér, impersonal líður.
Notice what is not there: no ég, no agreeing adjective. Mér líður vel, never ég líð vel and never mér líður góð. The whole clause is impersonal, and the feeler sits in the dative the way it does with finnast "find/seem" and langa "want" — this is the standard quirky-subject machinery of Icelandic.
Use 2: time passing — tíminn líður
In its other everyday sense, líða means (of time) to pass, go by, elapse. Here it has an ordinary nominative subject (tíminn "the time," árin "the years") or runs impersonally with a að-phrase (það leið að kvöldi "it drew towards evening"). This is the líða of clocks and calendars, and it is fully alive in speech.
Tíminn líður hratt þegar maður skemmtir sér.
Time flies when you're having fun. — nominative subject tíminn 'the time'; líður 'passes'.
Það leið að kvöldi þegar við loksins komum á áfangastað.
Evening was drawing in by the time we finally reached our destination. — impersonal 'það leið að kvöldi', a fixed time-passing idiom.
Þrjú ár liðu áður en þau hittust aftur.
Three years passed before they met again. — past plural liðu with the subject 'þrjú ár'.
Use 3: the middle líðast — 'be tolerated'
The -st middle líðast means "to be tolerated, be allowed, get away with." It is almost always used negatively — það líðst ekki "that won't be tolerated" — and takes a dative person for whom the thing is (not) tolerated: honum líðst það "he gets away with it."
Svona hegðun líðst ekki hérna.
That kind of behaviour is not tolerated here. — middle líðst, the standard 'won't be allowed'.
Henni hefur liðist alltof margt of lengi.
She has been allowed to get away with far too much for too long. — perfect of the middle: hefur liðist.
A note on í vs ð, and the líða–líta trap
Two orthographic things bite here. First, líða is spelled with í + ð in the present (líður), the diphthong ei in the past singular (leið), and short i in the plural and supine (liðu, liðið) — keep the accent and the ð exactly where they belong. Second, and more dangerous, do not confuse líða ("feel / pass") with líta ("look, glance"). They differ by a single consonant — ð vs t — and líta has its own past leit. Mér líður vel "I feel well" versus ég lít vel út "I look good" are completely different sentences.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég líð vel.
Incorrect — líða is impersonal with a DATIVE experiencer; the feeler is not a nominative subject. Say 'mér líður vel'.
✅ Mér líður vel.
I feel well.
There is no ég in this clause. The feeler goes into the dative (mér) and líða stays in the impersonal 3sg líður.
❌ Ég er góður, takk.
Wrong idiom — 'ég er góður' means roughly 'I am a good person', not 'I feel fine'. Use the dative-experiencer 'mér líður vel'.
✅ Mér líður vel, takk.
I'm fine, thanks.
A direct calque of English "I am well/good" misfires. The answer to hvernig líður þér? is mér líður vel.
❌ Mér líður góð.
Incorrect — there is no nominative subject for an adjective to agree with; use the ADVERB 'vel', not the adjective 'góð'.
✅ Mér líður vel.
I feel well.
Because the clause is impersonal, the feeling is expressed by an adverb (vel, illa), never an agreeing adjective.
❌ Mér leit vel í gær.
Wrong verb — 'leit' is the past of líta 'look'. 'I felt well yesterday' uses líða: 'mér leið vel í gær'.
✅ Mér leið vel í gær.
I felt well yesterday.
líða (ð, "feel/pass") and líta (t, "look") differ by one consonant; their pasts are leið and leit respectively. Keep them apart.
Key Takeaways
- líða is strong Class 1: líður – leið – liðu – liðið (series í – ei – i – i); past subjunctive liði, participle liðinn.
- The headline use is the dative experiencer: mér líður vel "I feel well" — feeler in the dative, verb impersonal 3sg, feeling expressed by an adverb. Never ég líð vel, never mér líður góð.
- "I feel well" is mér líður vel, NOT ég er góður (a calque that means something else).
- Second sense: time passing — tíminn líður, það leið að kvöldi, árin liðu (ordinary nominative subject or impersonal).
- Middle líðast = "be tolerated" (usually negative: það líðst ekki), with a dative person.
- Watch the orthography (í + ð → ei → i) and don't confuse líða (feel/pass) with líta (look): pasts leið vs leit.
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