Questions & Answers about Ég geri þetta sjálfur.
Gera is the infinitive (to do / to make). Geri is the 1st person singular present tense form, so ég geri = I do / I make.
Conjugation (present tense):
- ég geri
- þú gerir
- hann/hún/það gerir
- við gerum
- þið gerið
- þeir/þær/þau gera
In standard Icelandic, the subject pronoun is usually kept: Ég geri þetta…
You can omit ég in short answers, diary style, or very informal/context-heavy speech, but Icelandic is not a regular “pro-drop” language like Spanish. Most of the time, include ég.
Ég is nominative (the subject form of I). In this sentence:
- ég (nominative) = the doer
- þetta (accusative) = what is being done/made
Icelandic marks grammatical roles with case more than English does.
Þetta is a very common demonstrative pronoun meaning this (neuter singular). It can stand alone as this (thing), like English this / this one.
It’s also the form you use for both nominative and accusative neuter singular in many contexts, including here.
Both can mean it/that, but the typical distinction is:
- þetta = this, something close, current, or just introduced
- það = that/it, something more distant, already established, or less immediate
So Ég geri þetta… often feels like I’m doing this (specific thing here).
Yes. Putting sjálfur at the end is very natural because it works like an emphasis marker: I’ll do it myself.
The core word order is Subject – Verb – Object:
- Ég (S) geri (V) þetta (O) sjálfur (emphasis)
You can move things for emphasis, but this is a very common placement.
Not exactly. In Ég geri þetta sjálfur, sjálfur is an intensifier meaning myself / on my own / personally (emphasis).
It’s different from a true reflexive pronoun construction (like I washed myself). Here, you’re emphasizing that you are the one doing it, not someone else.
Yes. Sjálfur agrees with the speaker (or the noun/pronoun it emphasizes) in gender, number, and case. With ég (a person), you choose the form matching the speaker’s gender in nominative singular:
- masculine speaker: sjálfur
- feminine speaker: sjálf
- neuter (rare for people, but grammatically possible in some contexts): sjálft
So a woman would typically say: Ég geri þetta sjálf.
In this sentence, sjálfur naturally emphasizes the subject (ég), so it agrees with ég.
If you wanted something like this itself, Icelandic would normally express that differently (often with sjálft agreeing with a neuter noun/pronoun), but Ég geri þetta sjálfur is understood as I do this myself, not I do this itself.
It can be either, depending on context. Gera covers both English do and make in many everyday uses:
- gera verkefni = do an assignment
- gera köku = make a cake
In Ég geri þetta sjálfur, the meaning is simply that you will handle it yourself, whether it’s “doing” a task or “making” something.
A common pattern is placing ekki after the verb (often after the object too, but this is very common):
- Ég geri þetta ekki sjálfur. = I’m not doing this myself.
You can also shift emphasis depending on what you’re negating, but that version is a safe, natural default.
You typically invert verb and subject:
- Geri ég þetta sjálfur? = Am I doing this myself? / Should I do this myself? (context decides)
Or with a question word: - Af hverju geri ég þetta sjálfur? = Why am I doing this myself?
A rough guide (varies by accent):
- Ég ≈ “yegh” (with a voiced/soft g-like sound at the end)
- geri ≈ “YEH-ri”
- þetta ≈ “THEH-ta” (the þ is like th in think)
- sjálfur ≈ “SYOWL-vur” (with á like “ow” in many accents)
Stress is usually on the first syllable of each word: ÉG GE-ri ÞET-ta SJÁL-fur.