setja (to set / put) | Icelandic Grammar

setja ("to set, to put, to place") is one of the workhorse verbs of everyday Icelandic — you reach for it dozens of times a day to put things down, set tables, install programs, and start engines. It is a weak j-verb with a -tti past (setti), and its single most important property is that it is transitive: setja always moves an object somewhere, and that object stands in the accusative. This page also covers its essential partner verb sitja "to sit," and the extremely common middle form setjast "to sit down."

Conjugation

Class: weak j-verb (the -ti preterite). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef sett "I have put." The stem vowel is e, which does not trigger u-umlaut — so there is no ö anywhere in this paradigm. The j surfaces only before endings that begin with -a or -u (setjum, setja, setji).

Principal parts
Infinitive	að setja
3sg present	setur
3sg past	setti
Supine	sett

Person	Present (nútíð)	Past (þátíð)
ég	set	setti
þú	setur	settir
hann / hún / það	setur	setti
við	setjum	settum
þið	setjið	settuð
þeir / þær / þau	setja	settu

Person	Present subjunctive	Past subjunctive
ég	setji	setti
þú	setjir	settir
hann / hún / það	setji	setti
við	setjum	settum
þið	setjið	settuð
þeir / þær / þau	setji	settu

Non-finite & imperative
Imperative (þú)	settu
Imperative (þið)	setjið!
Supine	sett
Past participle (m/f/n)	settur / sett / sett
Middle voice (miðmynd)	setjast — "to sit down, to settle"

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Notice that the 1sg present is the bare stem set (no ending at all), while the 3sg adds -ur: ég set but hann setur. This is normal for j-verbs whose stem ends in a single consonant. Don't "correct" ég set to ég seti — the short form is the right one.

setja is transitive: it always takes an accusative object

The core meaning of setja is to cause something to be somewhere — you take a thing and you place it. Because the action is done to an object, that object is in the accusative, and a location phrase (often á, í, or ofan á + a place) usually follows.

Settu töskuna á borðið.

Put the bag on the table.

Ég setti bækurnar í töskuna.

I put the books in the bag.

Hún setur alltaf tónlist á þegar hún eldar.

She always puts music on when she's cooking.

setja vs sitja — the verb you "do to" something vs the verb you "are in"

This is the one distinction competitors usually skip, and it is the heart of using setja correctly. Icelandic keeps two separate verbs where English blurs them:

setja = put / set — transitive, takes an object, describes the action of placing.
sitja = sit / be sitting — intransitive, no object, describes the state of being seated.

So you setja a cup on the table (you place it there), but the cup then situr on the table (it is there). English uses "set/sit" loosely and even says "I sit the baby down"; Icelandic will not let you — putting the baby somewhere is setja, and the baby being seated is sitja. The reflexive bridge between them is setjast (below).

Ég settist niður og kötturinn sat við hliðina á mér.

I sat down and the cat was sitting next to me.

Hann settist í sófann og sat þar allt kvöldið.

He sat down on the sofa and sat there all evening.

setjast — "to sit down" (the middle voice)

Add the middle-voice ending -st and you get setjast, which means "to sit oneself down" — a change of posture, you moving yourself into a seated position. This is one of the most useful -st verbs in the language, and you will hear it constantly: fáðu þér sæti og sestu "have a seat and sit down." Past tense is settist / settust.

Fáðu þér sæti — sestu hérna hjá mér.

Have a seat — sit down here next to me.

Við settumst niður og fengum okkur kaffi.

We sat down and had some coffee.

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The contrast is mechanical: setja (no -st) puts something else down; setjast (with -st) puts yourself down. The -st is doing the work of English "oneself." The imperative sestu! "sit down!" is a fused, slightly irregular form worth memorising whole.

Common phrasal idioms

setja combines with particles into several everyday expressions, all still taking an accusative object where one is present:

setja upp — put up / set up / put on (e.g. a hat, a face, a tent): setja upp tjald "pitch a tent."
setja saman — put together, assemble, compose: setja saman texta "put a text together."
setja af stað — set in motion, start (a machine, a process): setja vélina af stað "start the machine."
setja inn — post / upload / put in: setja inn mynd "upload a picture."

Geturðu hjálpað mér að setja upp tjaldið?

Can you help me put up the tent?

Hann setti myndina inn á Instagram í gærkvöldi.

He posted the picture on Instagram last night.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ég setjaði bækurnar á borðið.

Incorrect — setja is a j-verb with a -ti past (setti), not a regular -aði past

✅ Ég setti bækurnar á borðið.

I put the books on the table.

❌ Ég set mig niður.

Incorrect — to seat yourself you don't use setja + 'mig'; use the middle voice setjast

✅ Ég sest niður.

I sit down.

❌ Kötturinn setur á borðinu.

Incorrect — setja is transitive ('put'); for something resting in a place use sitja/liggja

✅ Kötturinn situr á borðinu.

The cat is sitting on the table.

❌ Settu töskunni á borðið.

Incorrect — setja takes the accusative (töskuna), not the dative

✅ Settu töskuna á borðið.

Put the bag on the table.

Key Takeaways

setja / setur / setti / sett — a weak j-verb with a -ti past; the stem vowel e means no u-umlaut anywhere.
Transitive: setja takes an accusative object (setja eitthvað á/í …) — it places a thing somewhere.
setja vs sitja: you setja (put) an object down; it then situr (sits/rests) there. Don't use setja for being seated.
setjast (middle voice) = "sit oneself down"; imperative sestu!
Idioms: setja upp (set up), setja saman (assemble), setja af stað (start), setja inn (post/upload).
Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef sett.

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