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### Sounding Like Something

To say that someone or something sounds like something else, use the verb **hljóma** (to sound) followed by the phrase **eins og** (like / as). 

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### Behaving and Pretending

To talk about how someone behaves, use the reflexive verb **haga sér** (to behave). You can describe the behavior with an adverb, such as **eðlilega** (normally).

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If someone is faking a behavior or state, use the -st verb **þykjast** (to pretend). It is often followed by an infinitive phrase, like **að vera** (to be).

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### Acting "As If"

When **eins og** is followed by a full subordinate clause (a sentence with its own subject and verb), it translates to "as if". Because it describes a hypothetical situation, the verb in the **eins og** clause is often in the subjunctive mood.

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You can also use the phrase **láta eins og** to mean "to act like" or "to act as if". It works with both simple noun phrases and full clauses.

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### Imitating

Finally, to talk about mimicking someone's actions, use the phrasal verb **herma eftir** (to imitate). The preposition **eftir** governs the dative case, so the person or thing being imitated will always take a dative ending.

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Manner and similarity (eins og)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Presentative and the definite suffix (þetta er, -inn, -in, -ið)

Singular pronouns and to be (ég er, þú ert)

Singular adjective agreement

Yes/no questions (ert þú…?)

Basic negation (ekki)

Plural pronouns and to be (við erum, þeir eru)

Group 1 weak verbs (-ar)

Group 2 and 3 verbs (-ir, -ur)

Information questions (hvað, hver, hvar)

Expressing opinions (mér finnst, mér líkar)

Expressing desires (mig langar)

Numbers 1 to 10 (einn, tveir, þrír)

Direct objects on indefinite nouns

Direct objects on definite nouns

Singular object pronouns (mig, þig...)

Plural object pronouns (okkur, ykkur...)

Directional prepositions (um, í, á)

Verb-second word order

Expressing intentions (ætla að)

Needs and wants (þurfa, vilja)

Middle voice verbs (-st)

Possessive pronouns (minn, þinn)

Dative case with prepositions (í, á, frá)

Definite dative nouns (-num, -nni, -nu)

Dative personal pronouns (honum, henni, þeim)

Plural nouns (-ar, -ir, -ur)

Definite plural nouns (-nir, -nar, -in)

Accusative plural nouns

Number agreement 1 to 4 (einn, tveir…)

Singular commands

Past tense of the verb to be (var, vorum)

Present continuous (vera að)

Strong verbs in the present tense

Weather and dummy subjects (það)

Invariable possessive pronouns (hans, hennar, þeirra)

Accusative possessives (minn, þinn)

Accompaniment (með)

Dative plural (-um, -unum)

Compound sentences (og, en, eða)

"This" in the nominative (þessi, þessi, þetta)

"This" in the accusative (þennan, þessa, þetta)

Accusative adjectives (-an, -a, -t)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the accusative (einn, tvo, þrjá)

Third-person reflexive pronouns (sig, sér)

The preposition "to" with the genitive (til)

Subordinating conjunctions (að, af því að)

Simple past of weak verbs (-aði)

Question words (hvernig, hvaða)

Physical possession (vera með)

Abstract possession (hafa)

Telling time (hálf, korter)

Plural commands (-ið)

The simple past tense (-di, -ti, -ði)

Possessive noun endings (-s, -ar)

Days of the week (á mánudaginn, á mánudögum)

Kveðjur — greetings (halló, bless)

Um mig — where I am from

Kurteisi — please, sorry, congratulations

Ability and knowing how (kunna að)

Permission (mega)

Obligation (eiga að)

Plural strong verbs

Numbers 11 to 20 (ellefu, tólf...)

Counting by tens to 100 (þrjátíu, fjörutíu...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (fyrsti, annar...)

All / everything / everyone (allur)

The indefinite pronoun someone (einhver)

The indefinite pronoun no one (enginn)

Compound numbers from 21 (tuttugu og)

This in the dative singular (þessum, þessari, þessu)

These in the dative plural (þessum)

My and your in the dative (mínum, þínum)

Numbers 1 to 4 in the dative (einum, tveimur)

Adjectives in the dative singular (-um, -ri, -u)

Adjectives in the dative plural (-um)

Reflexive possessive in the accusative (sinn, sína, sitt)

Reflexive possessive in the dative (sínum, sinni)

Reflexive versus regular possessives (sinn, hans)

Demonstrative plural (þessir, þessar, þessi)

Definite genitive singular (-sins, -arinnar)

Indefinite genitive plural (-a)

Definite genitive plural (-anna)

Genitive prepositions (án, milli, vegna)

Prepositions of direction (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Prepositions of static location (yfir, undir, fyrir)

Question	Answer
to sound	hljóma
as / like / as if	eins og
You sound exactly like your dad.	Þú hljómar alveg eins og pabbi þinn.
to behave	haga sér
normally	eðlilega
Why doesn't she behave normally?	Af hverju hagar hún sér ekki eðlilega?
crazy	brjálaður
Nobody behaves as if they're crazy.	Enginn hagar sér eins og hann sé brjálaður.
to pretend	þykjast
The student is pretending to be sick today.	Nemandinn þykist vera veikur í dag.
the foreigner	útlendingurinn
He is wearing a blue sweater and pretending to be a foreigner.	Hann er í blárri peysu og þykist vera útlendingur.
to act (like)	láta eins og
the fool	kjáninn
Don't act like a fool!	Ekki láta eins og kjáni!
to imitate	herma eftir
the monkey	apinn
The child just imitated the monkey.	Barnið er nýbúið að herma eftir apanum.
Can you imitate these teachers?	Getur þú hermt eftir þessum kennurum?
Do you know why the man sounds so angry?	Veistu af hverju maðurinn hljómar svona reiður?
She behaves completely normally.	Hún hagar sér alveg eðlilega.
The boy acts like he comes from here.	Strákurinn lætur eins og hann komi héðan.
Is the fool just pretending to be asleep?	Þykist kjáninn bara vera að sofa?
The foreigner behaves like a crazy man.	Útlendingurinn hagar sér eins og brjálaður maður.
The child sounds like the monkey.	Barnið hljómar eins og apinn.