Weak verbs are the predictable, productive majority of Icelandic verbs — the ones that form their past with a dental suffix (-aði, -di, -ti) rather than by changing the stem vowel. Crucially for a beginner, they also have the most regular present: once you know which small class a verb belongs to, its present forms follow automatically. This page lays out the present of the main weak classes. The past tense and the strong verbs have their own pages; here we stay in the present and stay weak.
The kalla-class: the easy default
The largest and friendliest weak class is the kalla-type ("a-verbs"). Its hallmark is a bare 1sg (ég kalla) and an -a showing up across the paradigm. Using kalla ("call, shout"):
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ég | kalla | I call |
| þú | kallar | you call |
| hann/hún/það | kallar | he/she/it calls |
| við | köllum | we call |
| þið | kallið | you (pl.) call |
| þeir/þær/þau | kalla | they call |
Endings: -a / -ar / -ar / -um / -ið / -a. Two reflexes to lock in. The 1sg ends in -a (not bare-bare; the a is the class vowel): ég kalla. And the 1pl rounds a→ö under the -um ending: köllum, not kallum. Tala ("speak") runs identically: ég tala, þú talar, hann talar, við tölum, þið talið, þeir tala.
Ég tala smá íslensku.
I speak a little Icelandic. (kalla-class 1sg in -a)
Þú borðar varla neitt.
You hardly eat anything. (2sg -ar)
Við köllum þetta „lopapeysu“.
We call this a 'lopapeysa'. (1pl köllum — a→ö)
Krakkarnir leika sér úti.
The kids are playing outside. (3pl -a)
The -i class: dæma and reyna
A second weak group takes -i in the 1sg — ég dæmi, ég reyni — and then -ir in the singular. This is the class beginners most often get wrong, because the kalla-pattern instinct produces a wrong -a (ég dæma) instead of the correct -i. Compare dæma ("judge, deem") and reyna ("try"):
| Person | dæma (judge) | reyna (try) |
|---|---|---|
| ég | dæmi | reyni |
| þú | dæmir | reynir |
| hann/hún/það | dæmir | reynir |
| við | dæmum | reynum |
| þið | dæmið | reynið |
| þeir/þær/þau | dæma | reyna |
Endings here: -i / -ir / -ir / -um / -ið / -a. The differences from the kalla-class are confined to the singular: 1sg -i (not -a), 2/3sg -ir (not -ar). The plural is the same shape (-um / -ið / -a), and the 3pl returns to -a (dæma, reyna) — which, note, is identical to the bare infinitive. Because reyna and dæma have e/æ stems, no umlaut occurs in the -um form (there is no a to round): reynum, dæmum.
Ég reyni að mæta á réttum tíma.
I try to show up on time. (-i class 1sg)
Hann reynir aftur á morgun.
He'll try again tomorrow. (3sg -ir)
Dómarinn dæmir leikinn.
The referee is officiating the match. (3sg dæmir)
Við reynum okkar besta.
We do our best. (1pl reynum)
The honest difficulty: there is no surface clue from the infinitive alone that reyna takes ég reyni while tala takes ég tala — both infinitives end in -a. You learn the class with the verb. The reward is that the rest of the paradigm is then fully predictable. A good habit is to memorise each weak verb together with its 1sg: store "reyna, ég reyni" as a unit, the way you would store an irregular plural with its noun.
The j-class: telja
A smaller weak group carries a j that surfaces only before certain endings. Telja ("count, reckon") is the model:
| Person | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| ég | tel | I count |
| þú | telur | you count |
| hann/hún/það | telur | he/she/it counts |
| við | teljum | we count |
| þið | teljið | you (pl.) count |
| þeir/þær/þau | telja | they count |
The pattern to see: the j appears before -a and -u (the plural endings -um, -ið and the infinitive/3pl -a: telja, teljum, teljið) but disappears before the singular -∅/-ur (tel, telur). The 1sg is bare (tel), the 2/3sg take -ur (telur). This j-dropping-before-front-vowels is regular within the class, so once you spot a j-verb (telja, velja "choose", dvelja "stay"…) you can predict where the j shows and where it hides.
Ég tel að þetta sé rétt.
I reckon this is right. (j-class 1sg, no j: tel)
Við teljum atkvæðin núna.
We're counting the votes now. (1pl, j present: teljum)
Hún velur alltaf rauða litinn.
She always chooses the red one. (velja → velur, no j in sg)
How the classes line up
Lay the singulars side by side and the whole weak system reduces to a single question — what is the 1sg?
| Class | 1sg (ég) | 2/3sg | 1pl (við) | 3pl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kalla-type | kalla (-a) | kallar (-ar) | köllum (umlaut!) | kalla (-a) |
| dæma/reyna-type | dæmi / reyni (-i) | dæmir / reynir (-ir) | dæmum / reynum | dæma / reyna (-a) |
| telja-type (j) | tel (-∅) | telur (-ur) | teljum (j) | telja (j) |
Read across and you see the plurals barely differ — they all end in some -um / -ið / -a. The diagnostic is the singular: bare with -ar (kalla), -i with -ir (dæma/reyna), or bare with -ur and a hidden j (telja). This is the distinction many beginner courses blur by drilling only tala; knowing it up front saves you from the ég dæma error.
Common Mistakes
❌ Þú talar — Þú tala íslensku.
Incorrect — the 2/3sg ending -r is obligatory: þú talar.
✅ Þú talar íslensku.
You speak Icelandic.
The -r of the singular cannot be dropped. Þú tala is bare and wrong; it must be þú talar.
❌ Við talum saman.
Incorrect — the 1pl -um rounds a→ö: tölum.
✅ Við tölum saman.
We talk together.
Forgetting the 1pl u-umlaut. Tala → tölum, kalla → köllum, borða → borðum (here the stem already has o, so no change) — wherever the stem vowel is a, -um rounds it.
❌ Ég dæma málið.
Incorrect — dæma is an -i verb: ég dæmi.
✅ Ég dæmi málið.
I'll judge the matter.
The kalla-instinct produces a wrong -a. Verbs like dæma, reyna, heyra take -i in the 1sg: ég dæmi, ég reyni, ég heyri.
❌ Við telum atkvæðin.
Incorrect — telja is a j-verb: við teljum (with j before -um).
✅ Við teljum atkvæðin.
We're counting the votes.
In the j-class the j surfaces before -um/-ið/-a. The plural is teljum, teljið, telja — not telum.
Key Takeaways
- Weak verbs are predictable in the present; the only real question is what the 1sg is.
- kalla-class: -a / -ar / -ar / -um / -ið / -a, with the 1pl umlaut (kalla → köllum, tala → tölum).
- dæma/reyna-class: -i in the 1sg (ég dæmi, ég reyni), then -ir / -ir / -um / -ið / -a.
- telja-class (j): bare 1sg tel, -ur in the singular, and a j before -um/-ið/-a (teljum, teljið, telja).
- Store each weak verb with its 1sg (reyna → ég reyni); the infinitive alone won't tell you the class.
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Start learning Icelandic→Related Topics
- The Present Tense: One Form, Many MeaningsA1 — Why the Icelandic present covers what English splits across simple present, present progressive, and near future — ég les means 'I read', 'I am reading', and 'I'll read' — with the optional vera að progressive used only for emphasis.
- Weak Verbs: The Four ClassesA2 — The weak verb system — verbs that build their past tense with a dental suffix (-aði, -di, -ði, -ti) instead of a vowel change — split into four classes by their thematic vowel and present pattern, including the Class-4 j-verbs that hide a strong-looking e→a shift inside a weak conjugation.
- Present Tense: Strong Verbs and i-UmlautA2 — Why strong verbs change their stem vowel in the present singular but not the plural — taka → ég tek, þú tekur but við tökum, þeir taka — the i-umlaut/fronting that fronts a to e, and the crucial fact that this present vowel is separate from the preterite ablaut (tek vs tók).