skrifa ("to write") is a fully regular weak Class-1 verb — the same gloriously predictable machine as tala "speak" and borða "eat," with the -aði past tense and no vowel jumps. The one thing that makes skrifa worth its own card is what it teaches you about u-umlaut: because its stem vowel is i, not a short a, skrifa is the verb that proves the u-umlaut rule by not triggering it. Where tala gives tölum, skrifa gives plain skrifum — the i simply cannot become ö. skrifa is also the natural partner of lesa: lesa og skrifa "read and write."
Conjugation
Class: weak, Class 1 (the -aði preterite). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef skrifað "I have written." Governs: the accusative (skrifa bréf, skrifa bókina).
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að skrifa |
| Preterite (1sg = 3sg) | skrifaði |
| Supine | skrifað |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | skrifa | skrifaði |
| þú | skrifar | skrifaðir |
| hann / hún / það | skrifar | skrifaði |
| við | skrifum | skrifuðum |
| þið | skrifið | skrifuðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | skrifa | skrifuðu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | skrifi | skrifaði |
| þú | skrifir | skrifaðir |
| hann / hún / það | skrifi | skrifaði |
| við | skrifum | skrifuðum |
| þið | skrifið | skrifuðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | skrifi | skrifuðu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | skrifaðu |
| Imperative (þið) | skrifið! |
| Supine | skrifað |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | skrifaður / skrifuð / skrifað |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | skrifast á — "to correspond / write to each other" |
A regular Class-1 verb — with one caveat
Mechanically skrifa runs exactly like tala: drop the final -a, add -aði for the past (skrifaði), and the supine is skrifað. The past plural takes the -u- endings (skrifuðum, skrifuðuð, skrifuðu). The "caveat" is purely about what does not happen: those -u- endings would force a → ö in an a-stem, but here the stem is i, so the vowel sits still. This is the single most common spelling slip English speakers make once they've been taught the u-umlaut rule — they over-apply it.
Ég skrifa þér bréf um helgina.
I'll write you a letter over the weekend.
Hún skrifaði heila bók á einu ári.
She wrote a whole book in one year.
Við skrifuðum öllum gestunum þakkarkort.
We wrote a thank-you card to all the guests.
Supine vs. participle in the passive
skrifa is the ideal verb for seeing the difference between the supine and the past participle, because they look almost identical but behave differently:
- Supine = skrifað (fixed, never changes). It follows hafa in the perfect: ég hef skrifað bréfið "I have written the letter."
- Past participle = skrifaður / skrifuð / skrifað (agrees in gender and number). It follows vera/verða in the passive: bréfið var skrifað "the letter was written" (neuter, agreeing with bréf).
So bréfið var skrifað (passive, agreeing participle, here neuter) and ég hef skrifað bréfið (perfect, fixed supine) happen to share the spelling skrifað — but switch the subject to a feminine noun and the passive participle changes: greinin var skrifuð "the article was written," while the supine in ég hef skrifað greinina stays skrifað.
Bréfið var skrifað í flýti.
The letter was written in a hurry. (passive — participle agrees with neuter bréf)
Greinin var skrifuð af blaðamanni.
The article was written by a journalist. (passive — participle is feminine skrifuð)
Ég hef skrifað undir samninginn.
I have signed the contract. (perfect — fixed supine skrifað)
skrifa undir — "sign"
The phrasal verb skrifa undir literally "write under" means "to sign." It takes an accusative object (the thing you sign): skrifa undir samninginn "sign the contract." The logic is transparent once you see it — you write your name under a document — and it lines up neatly with English "undersign / undersigned," even though everyday English just says "sign." You'll meet it at the bank, the rental office, and the doctor.
Geturðu skrifað undir hérna?
Can you sign here?
Common Mistakes
❌ Við skröfum bréf á hverjum degi.
Incorrect — skrifa is an i-stem and does NOT umlaut; the form is skrifum.
✅ Við skrifum bréf á hverjum degi.
We write letters every day.
❌ Þau skröfuðu sögu saman.
Incorrect — same u-umlaut over-application; the past plural is skrifuðu.
✅ Þau skrifuðu sögu saman.
They wrote a story together.
❌ Ég hef skrifaði þrjú bréf.
Incorrect — the perfect needs the supine skrifað, not the past tense skrifaði.
✅ Ég hef skrifað þrjú bréf.
I have written three letters.
❌ Ég skrifaði á samninginn.
Incorrect — 'sign' is skrifa undir, not skrifa á.
✅ Ég skrifaði undir samninginn.
I signed the contract.
Key Takeaways
- skrifa – skrifaði – skrifað — a regular weak Class-1 verb, just like tala.
- It is an i-stem, so it never takes u-umlaut: skrifum / skrifuðum, never "skröfum."
- Perfect uses hafa + skrifað (fixed supine); the passive uses vera + agreeing participle (skrifað / skrifuð / skrifaður).
- skrifa takes the accusative; skrifa undir = "to sign."
- The reciprocal middle voice skrifast á = "to correspond, write to each other."
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- 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'.