spyrja ("to ask") is the verb you use to ask a person a question — and it hides a small but important surprise: although it is a weak verb, its stem vowel changes between the present and the past. You say ég spyr "I ask" but ég spurði "I asked": the y of the present turns into a u in the past. Add to that the fact that spyrja takes its person object in the accusative (you ask someone, not to someone), and you have a verb that rewards a few minutes of focused study.
Conjugation
Class: weak j-verb, with a stem-vowel shift (y in the present, u in the past). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef spurt "I have asked." There is no u-umlaut here: the stem vowels are y and u, never a short a, so no ö appears.
| Principal parts | |
|---|---|
| Infinitive | að spyrja |
| 3sg present | spyr |
| 3sg past | spurði |
| Supine | spurt |
| Person | Present (nútíð) | Past (þátíð) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | spyr | spurði |
| þú | spyrð | spurðir |
| hann / hún / það | spyr | spurði |
| við | spyrjum | spurðum |
| þið | spyrjið | spurðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | spyrja | spurðu |
| Person | Present subjunctive | Past subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | spyrji | spyrði |
| þú | spyrjir | spyrðir |
| hann / hún / það | spyrji | spyrði |
| við | spyrjum | spyrðum |
| þið | spyrjið | spyrðuð |
| þeir / þær / þau | spyrji | spyrðu |
| Non-finite & imperative | |
|---|---|
| Imperative (þú) | spurðu |
| Imperative (þið) | spyrjið! |
| Supine | spurt |
| Past participle (m/f/n) | spurður / spurð / spurt |
| Middle voice (miðmynd) | spyrjast (fyrir) — "to inquire, to make inquiries" |
You ask a person — accusative, not "to"
In English you ask a question to someone, or you "ask of" them. Icelandic has no such preposition with spyrja: the person you ask stands directly in the accusative, as a plain object. Ég spurði hann means "I asked him" — hann is accusative, no preposition in sight. This is the detail learners most often get wrong, because English makes the person feel like an indirect, dative-style recipient.
Má ég spyrja þig að einu?
May I ask you something?
Hún spurði mig hvar ég byggi.
She asked me where I lived.
Spurðu hann hvort hann komi á morgun.
Ask him whether he's coming tomorrow.
spyrja að and spyrja um — asking about something
When you name the topic of the question, two patterns are common:
- spyrja (einhvern) að einhverju (+ dative) — the older, set pattern, frozen in fixed phrases: spyrja að nafni "ask someone's name," spyrja að heiti. You will also hear the bare spyrja að einu "ask one thing."
- spyrja um (+ accusative) — "ask about / ask after," the everyday choice for asking after a person's wellbeing or about a matter: spyrja um leiðina "ask about the way."
Hann spurði mig að nafni þegar við hittumst.
He asked me my name when we met.
Margir hafa spurt um þig — hvar hefurðu verið?
A lot of people have asked about you — where have you been?
spyrja hvort — embedded yes/no questions take the subjunctive
When spyrja introduces an indirect yes/no question, Icelandic uses hvort ("whether") and, in careful usage, the subjunctive in the embedded clause. The logic is that a reported question is not a statement of fact — it reports something queried, not asserted — so the subjunctive marks that the content lives in the realm of the unsettled. This mirrors spyrja hvar/hvenær/af hverju with the other question words.
Ég spurði hvort það væri laust borð.
I asked whether there was a free table.
Þau spurðu hvenær myndin byrjaði.
They asked when the film started.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ég spyrjaði hana í gær.
Incorrect — the past is spurði (with u), not a regular -aði form
✅ Ég spurði hana í gær.
I asked her yesterday.
❌ Hún spurði til mín um veðrið.
Incorrect — you ask a person directly in the accusative; no 'til' is needed
✅ Hún spurði mig um veðrið.
She asked me about the weather.
❌ Spyrðu hann hvort hann kemur.
Incorrect — an embedded yes/no question with hvort takes the subjunctive (komi), not the indicative
✅ Spyrðu hann hvort hann komi.
Ask him whether he's coming.
❌ Ég spurr ekki margra spurninga.
Incorrect — the 1sg present is the bare stem spyr (with y), not 'spurr'
✅ Ég spyr ekki margra spurninga.
I don't ask many questions.
Key Takeaways
- spyrja / spyr / spurði / spurt — a weak j-verb with a y→u stem shift: y in the present, u in the past, supine and imperative.
- The person you ask is in the accusative (spyrja einhvern) — no preposition for the listener.
- spyrja að (+ dat) in set phrases (spyrja að nafni); spyrja um (+ acc) for asking about/after something.
- spyrja hvort introduces an indirect yes/no question and takes the subjunctive.
- Related noun: spurning (f.) "question," built on the u-stem.
- Auxiliary is hafa: ég hef spurt.
Now practice Icelandic
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Icelandic→