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Icelandic

### Spontaneous Actions: The Middle Voice

In Icelandic, many verbs take an **-st** ending to create the **Middle Voice**. This form is frequently used to describe actions that happen by themselves, unexpected events, or situations where the actor is unknown or unimportant. It often translates to English phrases using "gets" or "is" (e.g., "gets lost", "is forgotten").

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Notice how the letter isn't losing itself on purpose; it is a spontaneous event. The same applies when things slip our minds:

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### Things Happening on Their Own

Sometimes, an action simply happens without a direct human cause, or the cause is a natural force like the weather. The **-st** ending remains attached to the verb whether it is conjugated in the present or past tense.

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This also applies when objects break or get damaged, especially when you are focusing on what happened to the object rather than who is at fault.

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### Accidents and Getting Lost

When talking about minor accidents, injuries, or people losing their way, **-st** verbs are extremely common.

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Note the difference between *týnast* (used when objects get lost) and *villast* (used when people lose their way).

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### Unpredictable Events and Changes

The middle voice is perfect for describing events that seem out of your control, such as sudden appearances or travel delays.

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Finally, abstract processes like changing or finding a resolution often use the **-st** ending because they happen naturally or resolve themselves over time.

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Spontaneous actions (-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)

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 get lost	týnast
The key got lost when I was sick.	Lykillinn týndist þegar ég var veikur.
The letter never gets lost.	Bréfið týnist aldrei.
to get forgotten	gleymast
The meeting was forgotten when the storm started.	Fundurinn gleymdist þegar óveðrið byrjaði.
The password always gets forgotten.	Lykilorðið gleymist alltaf.
to close	lokast
The door suddenly closed.	Hurðin lokaðist skyndilega.
The window closed when the wind started.	Glugginn lokaðist þegar vindurinn byrjaði.
to get damaged	skemmast
The phone often gets damaged.	Síminn skemmist oft.
The car got damaged when I drove home.	Bíllinn skemmdist þegar ég keyrði heim.
to get injured	slasast
No one got injured in the accident.	Enginn slasaðist í slysinu.
I need the plaster because the kid got injured.	Mig vantar plásturinn af því að krakkinn slasaðist.
to get lost (lose one's way)	villast
We got lost in the forest.	Við villtumst í skóginum.
The tourist always gets lost here.	Ferðamaðurinn villist alltaf hérna.
to appear	birtast
Yesterday the cat appeared here.	Í gær birtist kötturinn hérna.
The solution sometimes appears accidentally.	Lausnin birtist stundum óvart.
to get delayed	tafjast
The flight got delayed because it snowed.	Flugið tafðist af því að það snjóaði.
I got delayed because the car was broken.	Ég tafðist af því að bíllinn var bilaður.
to change (intransitive)	breytast
The weather changes fast in Iceland.	Veðrið breytist hratt á Íslandi.
The plan changed when the rain started.	Planið breyttist þegar rigningin byrjaði.
to resolve itself	leysast
The problem usually resolves itself.	Vandamálið leysist venjulega.
The issue got resolved when the boss arrived.	Málið leystist þegar stjórinn kom.
to get (somewhere), to manage	komast
I did not get home yesterday.	Ég komst ekki heim í gær.
She did not make it to work today.	Hún komst ekki í vinnuna í dag.

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