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Icelandic

Icelandic has a special group of verbs that end in **-st**. This is known as the "middle voice." Adding **-st** to a standard base verb changes its relationship to the subject, usually making the action reciprocal, mediopassive, or describing a state of mind.

### Reciprocal actions (Doing something to each other)

The most common use of **-st** verbs is to show that two or more people are performing an action on one another. For example, **faðma** means "to hug," but **faðmast** means "to hug each other."

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Other common reciprocal verbs include **hittast** (to meet each other), **kyssast** (to kiss each other), and **sjást** (to see each other). Notice how the base meaning shifts to a mutual action.

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### Reflexive and passive actions (Getting or becoming)

Sometimes, the **-st** ending indicates that an action is happening to the subject, rather than the subject doing it to someone else. It can act like a passive voice or describe something happening spontaneously.

For example, **meiða** means "to hurt" (an active action against someone), but **meiðast** means "to get hurt."

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It also applies to inanimate objects doing things "by themselves," like a door opening without anyone pushing it.

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### Mental states and emotions

Finally, some **-st** verbs express an internal feeling or a state of mind. For example, **hræða** means "to scare" (inflicting fear on someone), but **hræðast** means "to fear" or "to be afraid" (experiencing the emotion yourself).

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Once you know these patterns, you can often guess the meaning of an **-st** verb just by looking at its base form!

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Middle voice verbs (-st)

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)

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)

Weak adjectives in the nominative (-i, -a, -a)

Question	Answer
to hug	faðma
The woman hugs the man.	Konan faðmar manninn.
to hug each other	faðmast
Today they hug each other.	Í dag faðmast þau.
We are going to meet the doctor tomorrow.	Við ætlum að hitta lækninn á morgun.
to meet each other	hittast
When do we meet?	Hvenær hittumst við?
Usually, mom kisses the child.	Venjulega kyssir mamma barnið.
to kiss each other	kyssast
The boy and the girl are kissing outside.	Strákurinn og stelpan kyssast úti.
I do not see you often.	Ég sé þig ekki oft.
to see each other	sjást
We will see each other soon!	Við sjáumst bráðum!
to hurt	meiða
The dog hurts the cat.	Hundurinn meiðir köttinn.
to get hurt	meiðast
Sometimes he gets hurt.	Stundum meiðist hann.
to scare	hræða
The dog scares me.	Hundurinn hræðir mig.
to fear	hræðast
I am afraid of the dog.	Ég hræðist hundinn.
I need to open the window right away.	Ég þarf að opna gluggann strax.
to open (by itself)	opnast
The door just opens.	Hurðin opnast bara.
The child hugs the cat, but the cat hurts the child.	Barnið faðmar köttinn en kötturinn meiðir barnið.
We often meet and hug.	Við hittumst oft og faðmumst.
They see each other and kiss today.	Þau sjást og kyssast í dag.
She gets hurt and I am afraid of that.	Hún meiðist og ég hræðist það.
The door opens and it scares me.	Hurðin opnast og það hræðir mig.

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