Subjective reported speech (subjunctive)

Rumors, Myths, and the Subjunctive

When telling ghost stories or sharing local urban legends, you are often relaying unverified claims, beliefs, or rumors. In Icelandic, when you report what someone says or believes—and want to emphasize that it is subjective or hearsay—you use the subjunctive mood in the reported clause.

Present Subjunctive with Vera

If the reporting verb is in the present tense, such as segir (says), trúir (believes), or halda (think), the verb in the að (that) clause takes the present subjunctive.

For the verb vera (to be), the present subjunctive form for he/she/it is sé.

Present Subjunctive of Other Verbs

For most other verbs, the third-person singular (he/she/it) in the present subjunctive ends in -i. For example, búa (to live) becomes búi, and sofa (to sleep) becomes sofi.

Past Subjunctive for Past Rumors

If the story was told in the past, using a past-tense reporting verb like sagði (said), the verb in the reported clause must shift into the past subjunctive.

The past subjunctive of vera is væri.

Action verbs also shift to their past subjunctive forms. For example, the past subjunctive of ganga (to walk) is gengi.

Reporting Completed Actions

If the rumor is about something the ghost or monster had already done before the story was told, you use the past subjunctive of the helping verb hafa (to have), which is hefði, followed by the past participle of the main verb.