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Icelandic

To talk about how someone felt or where they were in the past, use the past tense of the verb **vera** (to be).

| Pronoun | Past Tense |
| --- | --- |
| Ég (I) | **var** |
| Þú (You sg.) | **varst** |
| Hann/Hún/Það (He/She/It) | **var** |
| Við (We) | **vorum** |
| Þið (You pl.) | **voruð** |
| Þeir/Þær/Þau (They) | **voru** |

### Describing Singular Subjects

Use **var** or **varst** to describe a single person or thing. Note that descriptive adjectives still change to match the gender of the subject. Time expressions like **í gær** (yesterday) and **áðan** (earlier) are often used to anchor the sentence.

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To ask a question, simply swap the verb and the subject, just like in the present tense.

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### Describing Plural Subjects

When talking about multiple people or things, use the plural forms: **vorum**, **voruð**, and **voru**.

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### Connecting Descriptions

You can link multiple past states together using conjunctions like **og** (and) or **en** (but).

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

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

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
angry	reiður
yesterday	í gær
I was angry yesterday.	Ég var reiður í gær.
the weather	veðrið
cold	kaldur
Yesterday the weather was cold.	Í gær var veðrið kalt.
sad	leiður
earlier	áðan
Were you sad earlier?	Varst þú leiður áðan?
surprised	hissa
We were surprised earlier.	Við vorum hissa áðan.
The movie was boring yesterday.	Bíómyndin var leiðinleg í gær.
Where were you earlier?	Hvar voruð þið áðan?
funny	fyndinn
They were funny yesterday.	Þeir voru fyndnir í gær.
bad	slæmur
The weather was bad.	Veðrið var slæmt.
hot	heitur
The food was hot.	Maturinn var heitur.
My brother was tired yesterday.	Bróðir minn var þreyttur í gær.
The boy was funny.	Strákurinn var fyndinn.
Grandma was very surprised earlier.	Amma var mjög hissa áðan.
I was sad at the school yesterday.	Ég var leiður í skólanum í gær.
Were you outside yesterday?	Voruð þið úti í gær?
Yesterday the food was very good.	Í gær var maturinn mjög góður.
The weather was cold but the food was hot.	Veðrið var kalt en maturinn var heitur.
The food was bad and the man was angry.	Maturinn var slæmur og maðurinn var reiður.