This is a lookup page, not a lesson. It gathers every set of personal endings the Icelandic verb uses — present, preterite, present subjunctive, past subjunctive — into one place so you can find any cell at a glance. The dedicated Verb pages explain why each form is what it is; here we simply lay out the grids and fill them in on two model verbs: kalla ("call," weak Class 1) and taka ("take," strong). Seeing all four paradigms side by side also reveals the single most useful consolidation in the whole system, which we point out at the end: the difference between the present and the subjunctive comes down to one letter.
The shared person-number skeleton
Every paradigm hangs personal endings on six slots. Keep this order in your head — it is the spine of every table below:
ég · þú · hann/hún/það · við · þið · þeir/þær/þau
Two facts recur in every paradigm. The -um ending (1st plural) triggers u-umlaut, rounding a stem a to ö (köllum, tökum). And in several paradigms two cells fall together (2sg = 3sg in the present; 1sg = 3sg in the weak preterite and in both subjunctives) — the pronoun does the disambiguating.
Indicative present
The present endings are -∅ / -r / -r / -um / -ið / -a. The hallmark of the present is the -r in the singular (2sg and 3sg). Strong verbs use the same endings; they merely shift the stem vowel in the singular (taka → tek, tekur).
| Person | Ending | kalla (weak) | taka (strong) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ég | -∅ | kalla | tek |
| þú | -r | kallar | tekur |
| hann/hún/það | -r | kallar | tekur |
| við | -um | köllum | tökum |
| þið | -ið | kallið | takið |
| þeir/þær/þau | -a | kalla | taka |
Ég kalla á þig þegar maturinn er til.
I'll call you when the food's ready. (present 1sg, bare)
Hún tekur strætó í vinnuna.
She takes the bus to work. (strong present 3sg, -r)
Indicative preterite — weak (Class 1)
The weak past endings are -i / -ir / -i / -um / -uð / -u, attached to the past stem (for Class 1, kallað-, with the -að- suffix). The plural rounds a → ö on an a-stem (kölluðum). The 1sg and 3sg are identical (kallaði).
| Person | Ending | kalla → kallað- |
|---|---|---|
| ég | -i | kallaði |
| þú | -ir | kallaðir |
| hann/hún/það | -i | kallaði |
| við | -um | kölluðum |
| þið | -uð | kölluðuð |
| þeir/þær/þau | -u | kölluðu |
Ég kallaði á hana en hún heyrði ekki.
I called out to her but she didn't hear. (weak preterite 1sg, -aði)
Class-2 weak verbs use the short dental (-di / -ði / -ti) on the same endings: reyna → reyndi, reyndir, reyndi, reyndum, reynduð, reyndu. Which dental and how to choose it is on the weak-preterite page; the endings are identical to the table above.
Indicative preterite — strong
A strong verb's past has no dental suffix; instead the stem vowel changes (ablaut), and the endings are -∅ / -t / -∅ / -um / -uð / -u. The 2sg ending -st attaches to the past singular stem (tók- → tókst). Again 1sg = 3sg (tók).
| Person | Ending | taka → tók- / tóku- |
|---|---|---|
| ég | -∅ | tók |
| þú | -st | tókst |
| hann/hún/það | -∅ | tók |
| við | -um | tókum |
| þið | -uð | tókuð |
| þeir/þær/þau | -u | tóku |
Ég tók lestina klukkan átta.
I took the train at eight. (strong preterite 1sg, bare tók)
Tókst þú prófið í gær?
Did you take the exam yesterday? (strong preterite 2sg, -st → tókst)
Present subjunctive
The present subjunctive has -i almost everywhere: -i / -ir / -i / -um / -ið / -i. The singular is -i, -ir, -i and the 3pl is -i (not the indicative -a). This is the same for weak and strong verbs — the subjunctive uses the present stem (so strong taka keeps the a: taki, not the singular indicative tek).
| Person | Ending | kalla (weak) | taka (strong) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ég | -i | kalli | taki |
| þú | -ir | kallir | takir |
| hann/hún/það | -i | kalli | taki |
| við | -um | köllum | tökum |
| þið | -ið | kallið | takið |
| þeir/þær/þau | -i | kalli | taki |
Hann vill að ég taki strætó.
He wants me to take the bus. (present subjunctive taki after vill að)
Það er mikilvægt að þú kallir á hjálp.
It's important that you call for help. (present subjunctive kallir)
Past subjunctive
The past subjunctive endings are -i / -ir / -i / -um / -uð / -u — the same shape as the weak preterite. For weak verbs the past subjunctive is identical to the past indicative in form (kallaði, kallaðir, ...); context and the triggering conjunction tell you it is subjunctive. For strong verbs the past subjunctive is built on the past-plural stem with i-umlaut: tóku- → tæki-, giving tæki, tækir, tæki, tækjum, tækjuð, tækju.
| Person | Ending | kalla (weak) | taka (strong, tæk-) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ég | -i | kallaði | tæki |
| þú | -ir | kallaðir | tækir |
| hann/hún/það | -i | kallaði | tæki |
| við | -um | kölluðum | tækjum |
| þið | -uð | kölluðuð | tækjuð |
| þeir/þær/þau | -u | kölluðu | tækju |
Ef ég tæki strætó myndi ég spara pening.
If I took the bus I'd save money. (past subjunctive tæki in a hypothetical)
Hún sagði að hann kallaði alltaf of seint.
She said he always called too late. (weak past subjunctive = past indicative in form: kallaði)
The consolidating insight: -r vs -i
Here is what lining the four grids up reveals, and what no scattered set of pages can show you. The mood contrast between indicative present and subjunctive lives almost entirely in the singular, and it reduces to one letter:
| Cell | Present indicative | Present subjunctive |
|---|---|---|
| ég | kalla / tek | kalli / taki |
| þú | kallar / tekur | kallir / takir |
| hann | kallar / tekur | kalli / taki |
| þeir | kalla (-a) | kalli (-i) |
The present is the "-r in the singular" mood; the subjunctive is the "-i everywhere" mood. So the entire indicative/subjunctive distinction in the present is essentially -r vs -i in the key cells (with the 3pl also flipping -a → -i). The plural 1st and 2nd forms (köllum / kallið, tökum / takið) are the same in both moods — they carry no mood information at all. Once you see that, the subjunctive stops being a separate paradigm to memorise and becomes a one-letter edit of forms you already know.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hann vill að ég tek strætó.
Incorrect — after vill að the verb is subjunctive: taki, not the indicative tek.
✅ Hann vill að ég taki strætó.
He wants me to take the bus.
The trigger vill að ("wants that") forces the subjunctive. Swap the indicative singular for the -i form: taki.
❌ Það er gott að þú kallar á hjálp.
Incorrect — að here triggers the subjunctive: kallir (-ir), not the indicative kallar (-r).
✅ Það er gott að þú kallir á hjálp.
It's good that you call for help.
The present-indicative 2sg is kallar (-r); the subjunctive 2sg is kallir (-ir). This is the -r vs -i contrast in action.
❌ Ég reynaði að opna gluggann.
Incorrect — reyna is Class 2 (ég reyni), so the preterite is the short dental reyndi, not -aði.
✅ Ég reyndi að opna gluggann.
I tried to open the window.
Don't force the Class-1 -aði onto a Class-2 verb. The -i in the present (ég reyni) flags the short dental: reyndi.
❌ Ég tókti lestina.
Incorrect — taka is strong, so its preterite has no dental: tók (vowel change), not a weak -ti.
✅ Ég tók lestina.
I took the train.
Strong verbs build the past by changing the vowel, not by adding a dental suffix. Taka → tók, never tók-ti.
❌ Við talum saman á hverjum degi.
Incorrect — the -um ending rounds a→ö: tölum.
✅ Við tölum saman á hverjum degi.
We talk together every day.
The 1pl -um triggers u-umlaut on an a-stem in every paradigm: tölum, köllum, tökum. Plain talum is wrong.
Key Takeaways
- Present indicative: -∅ / -r / -r / -um / -ið / -a — the -r-in-the-singular mood (kallar, tekur).
- Weak preterite: -i / -ir / -i / -um / -uð / -u on the dental stem (kallaði); strong preterite changes the vowel with -∅ / -st / -∅ / -um / -uð / -u (tók, tókst).
- Present subjunctive: -i almost everywhere (kalli, taki) — built on the present stem.
- Past subjunctive: weak = identical to past indicative (kallaði); strong = past-plural stem + i-umlaut (tæki).
- The whole mood contrast reduces to -r vs -i in the singular (plus 3pl -a → -i); the -um / -ið plurals are mood-neutral.
- The -um ending rounds a → ö in every paradigm (köllum, tökum, kölluðum).
Now practice Icelandic
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- Person and Number EndingsA1 — The agreement endings shared across the Icelandic verb system — -∅/-r/-r/-um/-ið/-a — so that once you know a verb's stem you can conjugate it, including the hidden u-umlaut that rounds a→ö in the 'we' form (köllum, tökum).
- The Weak Preterite: -aði, -di, -ði, -tiA2 — How to choose and form the weak past tense — Class-1 -a verbs take -aði (tala → talaði, plural töluðum), Class-2 verbs take the short dental -di/-ði/-ti picked by the preceding sound (reyndi, dæmdi, keypti) — with the full tala paradigm and the 'when in doubt, -aði' default for unknown verbs.