Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Hann lendir í slysi.

Hann lendir í slysi.

He gets into an accident.

Breakdown of Hann lendir í slysi.

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Questions & Answers about Hann lendir í slysi.

What does Hann lendir í slysi literally mean? Why is the verb lendir used for “has an accident”?

Literally, Hann lendir í slysi is closer to “He ends up in an accident” or “He lands in an accident.”

lenda = to land, to end up, to run into / get into (a situation)
í = in / into
slysi = (in) an accident

In Icelandic, lenda í + dative is a common pattern meaning “to get into / run into (some situation)”:

lenda í slysi – get into an accident
lenda í vandræðum – get into trouble
lenda í erfiðleikum – get into difficulties

So Hann lendir í slysi is the idiomatic way to say “He has an accident / He gets into an accident.”

What exactly does slysi mean, and why isn’t it just slys here?

slys is the basic (dictionary) form and means “an accident” or “accident” (usually a physical mishap, crash, etc.).

Icelandic is a case language. slysi is the dative singular of slys, required here because of the preposition í.

Declension of slys (neuter):

Singular
- Nominative: slys – (this) accident
- Accusative: slys – (I see) an accident
- Dative: slysi – (in) an accident
- Genitive: slyss – (because of) an accident
Plural
- Nominative: slys – accidents
- Accusative: slys
- Dative: slysum – (in) accidents
- Genitive: slysa – of accidents

In Hann lendir í slysi, the verb + preposition require the dative, so the noun must appear as slysi.

Why does í take the dative here? Doesn’t í sometimes take accusative too?

Yes. í can govern either accusative or dative:

í + accusative → motion into something
í + dative → being in something / in a state or situation

Examples with a clear physical location:

Ég fer í skólann. – I go into the school. (í + acc)
Ég er í skólanum. – I am in the school. (í + dat)

With lenda í slysi, we’re not describing physical movement into a container; we’re describing ending up in a situation (the accident). That pattern uses dative:

lenda í slysi – end up in an accident
lenda í vandræðum – end up in trouble
lenda í árekstri – end up in a collision

So í takes the dative slysi here.

Why is there no word for “a” in í slysi? How do I know it means “in an accident”?

Icelandic has no separate word for “a / an” (no indefinite article). A bare noun usually corresponds to English “a/an” or sometimes just the noun without any article.

slys = an accident / accident
í slysi = in an accident

The definite article (“the”) is usually a suffix on the noun:

slys + -ið → slysið = the accident (nominative/accusative)
Dative singular definite: slysinu → í slysinu = in the accident

So:

Hann lendir í slysi. – He has an accident. (first mention, indefinite)
Hann slasast í slysinu. – He is injured in the accident. (a specific, already known accident)

Is Hann lendir í slysi present tense? How do I say “He had an accident” in the past?

Yes, lendir is present tense, 3rd person singular.

Hann lendir í slysi.
- Literally: He ends up in an accident.
- Typically translated as: He has an accident / He gets into an accident.

To talk about the past, use the past tense of lenda:

Hann lenti í slysi. – He had an accident / He got into an accident.

For other tenses:

Hann mun lenda í slysi. – He will have an accident.
Hann hefur lent í slysi. – He has had an accident.

Note that Icelandic present can also be used in narrative style to talk about events that are past or future from the storyteller’s perspective, depending on context.

How is the verb lenda conjugated?

Here is lenda (to land; to end up) in the most useful forms:

Present indicative

ég lendi – I land / end up
þú lendir – you land / end up
hann / hún / það lendir – he / she / it lands / ends up
við lendum – we land / end up
þið lendið – you (pl.) land / end up
þeir / þær / þau lenda – they land / end up

Past indicative

ég lenti – I landed / ended up
þú lentir – you landed / ended up
hann / hún / það lenti – he / she / it landed / ended up
við lentum – we landed / ended up
þið lentuð – you (pl.) landed / ended up
þeir / þær / þau lentu – they landed / ended up

Supine (used in perfect tenses): lent

Hann hefur lent í slysi. – He has had an accident.

So the form in your sentence, lendir, is present, 3rd person singular.

Is lenda í slysi the only way to say “have an accident”? Are there other common ways to express this?

lenda í slysi is very common and natural, but there are other expressions, each with a slightly different nuance:

Hann lendir í slysi.
– He has an accident. (neutral, very common)
Hann verður fyrir slysi.
– He suffers an accident / He is subjected to an accident.
This sounds a bit more formal or written, and emphasizes being affected by something.
Hann slasast í slysi.
– He is injured in an accident.
Focus is on getting hurt, not just that an accident happened.
Hann lenti í umferðarslysi.
– He had a traffic accident / a car crash.
(Here umferðarslys = traffic accident.)

What you don’t say is *Hann á slys or *Hann hefur slys to mean “He has an accident.”
Those sound like “He owns an accident” or “He is a person with (a history of) accidents,” and are not used for the event itself.

Can I specify the type of accident, like “He has a car accident”?

Yes. You just specify the kind of slys:

Hann lendir í bílslysi. – He has a car accident.
- bíll = car
- bílslys = car accident
- í bílslysi = in a car accident (dative)

Other examples:

Hann lenti í umferðarslysi. – He had a traffic accident.
Hún lenti í vinnuslysi. – She had a work accident / workplace accident.

The pattern stays the same: lenda í + [type of accident in the dative].

How would I say “He often has accidents” or “He keeps getting into accidents”?

Use an adverb like oft (“often”) and the plural of slys in the dative:

Hann lendir oft í slysum.
– He often has accidents. / He often gets into accidents.

Recall the dative plural of slys is slysum, so you keep the “lenda í + dative” pattern:

í slysum = in accidents (dative plural)

You can also use other frequency adverbs:

Hann lendir stundum í slysum. – He sometimes has accidents.
Hann lendir alltaf í slysum. – He always ends up having accidents.

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Í slysi lendir hann or how do I make a question?

The normal neutral word order is Subject – Verb – (other stuff):

Hann lendir í slysi. – He has an accident.

You can change the word order for emphasis or style:

Í slysi lendir hann.
– In an accident he ends up. (Very marked; you’d only see this in special contexts or poetic/literary style.)

To make a yes–no question, you invert the subject and verb:

Lendir hann í slysi? – Does he have an accident? / Is he having an accident?

For a wh-question, put the question word first, then the verb:

Hvenær lendir hann í slysi? – When does he have an accident?
Hvernig lendir hann í slysi? – How does he end up in an accident?

The core verb–preposition–case pattern (lendir í slysi) stays the same; you just move parts around according to normal Icelandic word-order rules.

Can you give a few more common phrases that use lenda í + dative, like lenda í slysi?

Yes, the structure lenda í + dative is very productive and useful. Here are some common examples:

lenda í vandræðum – get into trouble
- Hann lendir oft í vandræðum. – He often gets into trouble.
lenda í erfiðleikum – run into difficulties
- Fyrirtækið lenti í erfiðleikum. – The company ran into difficulties.
lenda í slagsmálum – get into a fight
- Þeir lendu í slagsmálum. – They got into a fight.
lenda í árekstri – be in a collision (e.g. cars)
- Hann lenti í árekstri á leiðinni heim. – He was in a collision on the way home.

All of these follow the same grammatical logic as Hann lendir í slysi:
lenda + í + dative to express “end up in / get into (some situation).”