Claiming and Pretending: Segjast and Þykjast
To report what someone says about themselves or who they pretend to be, use the middle-voice verbs segjast (to claim) and þykjast (to pretend).
When followed by another action, these verbs take a bare infinitive—an infinitive without the particle að.
| The con artist claims to be rich. | Svikahrappurinn segist vera ríkur. |
| She claims to own the secret document. | Hún segist eiga leyniskjalið. |
The verb þykjast works exactly the same way for putting on an act.
| The con artist pretends to own the wealth. | Svikahrappurinn þykist eiga auðæfin. |
| The con artist pretends to know the secret. | Svikahrappurinn þykist vita leyndarmálið. |
If the infinitive verb is vera (to be), any following adjective or noun must match the subject in gender, number, and case (nominative).
| They claim to be innocent. | Þau segjast vera saklaus. |
| The con artist pretends to be the doctor, but we expose him. | Svikahrappurinn þykist vera læknirinn en við afhjúpum hann. |
Exposing Con Artists
Here are a few more examples combining new vocabulary with middle-voice reporting verbs to describe scams and deceit.
| The man who tricked us was very credible. | Maðurinn sem plataði okkur var mjög trúverðugur. |
| The police are going to expose him. | Lögreglan ætlar að afhjúpa hann. |
| He claims to love her, but greed controls him. | Hann segist elska hana en græðgin stjórnar honum. |
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