In Icelandic, strong verbs change their core stem vowel in the present tense for singular pronouns (I, you, he/she/it). In the plural (we, you all, they), they revert to the vowel found in the infinitive.
The a → e shift
For many strong verbs with an a in the infinitive, the vowel shifts to e in the singular.
Notice how halda (to think/believe) uses e in the singular, but reverts to a (or ö due to the -um ending) in the plural.
| Pronoun | Present Tense of halda |
|---|---|
| Ég (I) | held |
| Þú (You sg.) | heldur |
| Hann/Hún/Það (He/She/It) | heldur |
| Við (We) | höldum |
| Þið (You pl.) | haldið |
| Þeir/Þær/Þau (They) | halda |
| I think so. | Ég held það. |
| Of course he thinks so. | Auðvitað heldur hann það. |
| We do not think so. | Við höldum það ekki. |
This same shift happens with verbs like standa (to stand):
| I stand outside. | Ég stend úti. |
| Does the man just stand there? | Stendur maðurinn bara þar? |
The á → æ shift
When a strong verb has an á in the infinitive, it shifts to æ in the singular forms. Common verbs with this shift include fá (to get) and láta (to let/put).
| The teacher gets the answer immediately. | Kennarinn fær svarið strax. |
| Do you get the package now? | Færð þú pakkann núna? |
| We get the answer soon. | Við fáum svarið bráðum. |
| I put the package on the table. | Ég læt pakkann á borðið. |
| Does she never let the dog go? | Lætur hún aldrei hundinn fara? |
The jú / jó → ý shift
Strong verbs containing jú or jó shift to ý in the singular. The plural forms again revert to the original vowel. Common verbs here are fljúga (to fly) and brjóta (to break).
| The airplane flies tomorrow. | Flugvélin flýgur á morgun. |
| Do they fly home tonight? | Fljúga þeir heim í kvöld? |
| The child breaks the glass. | Barnið brýtur glasið. |
| They never break the phones. | Þeir brjóta aldrei símana. |
