ná (to reach / get / catch / manage) | Icelandic Grammar

ná is a small word that does an enormous amount of work: "reach, get, catch, fetch, attain, manage." If you want to say you caught the bus, grabbed the milk, reached someone by phone, recovered from a cold, or managed to finish on time, you reach for ná. It is a contract verb (a short -á verb), and it has one genuinely irregular feature you must front-load: the present singular is i-umlauted — næ / nærð / nær — while the plural drops straight back to á: náum / náið / ná. Everything past tense is regular and á-based: náði, náðum. This page lays out the paradigm and walks through the verb's main senses, each of which uses a different preposition or case.

Conjugation

Class: weak contract verb (-á). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef náð "I have reached/got."

Principal parts
Infinitive	að ná
3sg present	nær
3sg past	náði
Supine	náð

Person	Present (nútíð)	Past (þátíð)
ég	næ	náði
þú	nærð	náðir
hann / hún / það	nær	náði
við	náum	náðum
þið	náið	náðuð
þeir / þær / þau	ná	náðu

Person	Present subjunctive	Past subjunctive
ég	nái	næði
þú	náir	næðir
hann / hún / það	nái	næði
við	náum	næðum
þið	náið	næðuð
þeir / þær / þau	nái	næðu

Non-finite & imperative
Imperative (þú)	náðu
Imperative (þið)	náið!
Supine	náð
Past participle (m/f/n)	náður / náð / náð
Middle voice (miðmynd)	nást — "to be reachable / be caught" (það næst ekki í hann "he can't be reached")

💡

The trap is the present singular. Because of an old i-umlaut, the singular forms raise á to æ: ég næ, þú nærð, hann nær. The moment you go plural, the á snaps back: við náum, þið náið, þeir ná. Note this is the opposite direction from u-umlaut — here the vowel change lives in the singular, not the plural, and produces æ, not ö. The past tense is uniformly á: náði, náðum, náðu.

Sense 1: ná í + accusative — "fetch, go and get, grab"

ná í + accusative means "go and get, fetch, pick up" — the everyday verb for grabbing something or someone. This is probably the sense you will use most.

Geturðu náð í mjólk á leiðinni heim?

Can you grab some milk on the way home?

Ég næ í þig klukkan sjö.

I'll pick you up at seven.

Sense 2: ná + dative — "catch, reach, manage to get"

With a bare dative object, ná means "catch / reach / make it to" — the bus you catch, the train you make, the goal you attain. ná strætó "catch the bus" is the phrase to memorise. (You will also hear ná strætónum with the definite article; both the dative is what matters.)

Við náðum ekki strætó og urðum að ganga.

We didn't catch the bus and had to walk.

Ef þú flýtir þér nærðu enn lestinni.

If you hurry, you'll still catch the train.

Sense 3: ná að + infinitive — "manage to, succeed in"

ná að + infinitive means "manage to, succeed in (doing)" — the outcome-focused way to say you actually got something done. This is a high-frequency construction and a very natural alternative to takast "succeed."

Náðir þú að klára verkefnið fyrir frest?

Did you manage to finish the project before the deadline?

Ég náði loksins að sofa í gærkvöldi.

I finally managed to sleep last night.

Sense 4: ná sér (í) — "recover" / "get oneself"

The reflexive ná sér means "recover, get better"; ná sér í + accusative means "get oneself (something), pick up." And the related sense "reach someone" (by phone) often appears as ná í einhvern or in the middle voice það næst ekki í hann "he can't be reached."

Hún er enn að ná sér eftir flensuna.

She's still recovering from the flu.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ég ná í þig á morgun.

Incorrect — the present singular is i-umlauted: ég næ, not ég ná (which is the plural/infinitive stem)

✅ Ég næ í þig á morgun.

I'll pick you up tomorrow.

❌ Við næum vélinni ef við förum strax.

Incorrect — the plural keeps á: við náum, not næum (the æ is singular-only)

✅ Við náum vélinni ef við förum strax.

We'll catch the flight if we leave right away.

❌ Náðir þú klára þetta?

Incorrect — 'manage to' needs ná AÐ + infinitive; the að is not optional

✅ Náðir þú að klára þetta?

Did you manage to finish this?

❌ Ég náði strætóinn.

Incorrect — ná in this sense takes the dative: ná strætó / strætónum, not the accusative

✅ Ég náði strætónum.

I caught the bus.

Key Takeaways

ná / nær / náði / náð — a contract (-á) verb; auxiliary hafa (ég hef náð).
Irregular present singular with i-umlaut: næ / nærð / nær; the plural reverts to á: náum / náið / ná.
The past is uniformly á: náði, náðir, náði, náðum, náðuð, náðu.
ná í
- acc = "fetch, grab, pick up"; ná
  - dat = "catch, reach" (ná strætó).
ná að
- infinitive = "manage to"; ná sér = "recover."

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