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Icelandic

In Icelandic, verbs dictate the grammatical case of their direct objects. While the vast majority of verbs take the accusative or dative case, a small, specific group of verbs requires their objects to be in the genitive case.

Many of these genitive-taking verbs are related to emotions, nostalgia, and experiencing things.

### Missing and Remembering

Two very common verbs that govern the genitive case are **sakna** (to miss) and **minnast** (to remember, to recall). When you miss or remember something, that "something" must take the genitive form.

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Notice how feminine nouns with the definite article, like *fortíðin* (the past) and *sveitin* (the countryside), change to *fortíðarinnar* and *sveitarinnar* in the genitive.

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### Enjoying and Expecting

When attending cultural events or indulging in experiences, you will frequently use the verbs **njóta** (to enjoy) and **vænta** (to expect). Both of these require the genitive case.

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Whether you are expecting a specific outcome or a general concept, the object still takes the genitive case.

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### The Case Belongs to the Verb

It is important to remember that the genitive case is triggered strictly by these specific verbs, not by the nouns themselves. If you talk about the exact same topic using a different verb, the noun will change its case to match whatever that new verb requires.

For example, *njóta* takes the genitive (*óperunnar*), but *útskýra* (to explain) takes the accusative (*óperuna*).

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Similarly, *vænta* takes the genitive (*viðurkenningar*), but *fá* (to get/receive) takes the accusative (*viðurkenningu*).

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Verbs taking the genitive case

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
the past	fortíðin
Why do you miss the past?	Af hverju saknar þú fortíðarinnar?
to remember (commemorate, recall)	minnast
We remembered the past.	Við minntumst fortíðarinnar.
the countryside	sveitin
I miss the countryside a lot.	Ég sakna sveitarinnar mjög mikið.
the spectator	áhorfandinn
the atmosphere	stemningin
The spectators enjoyed the atmosphere.	Áhorfendurnir nutu stemningarinnar.
the opera	óperan
All the spectators enjoyed the opera.	Allir áhorfendurnir nutu óperunnar.
to expect	vænta
the success	velgengnin
The director expects great success.	Leikstjórinn væntir mikillar velgengni.
The actor enjoys the success.	Leikarinn nýtur velgengninnar.
the musical piece	tónverkið
Could you play the musical piece?	Gætirðu spilað tónverkið?
the recognition	viðurkenningin
The musical piece received great recognition.	Tónverkið fékk mikla viðurkenningu.
We expected recognition.	Við væntum viðurkenningar.
We often remember the countryside.	Við minnumst oft sveitarinnar.
The atmosphere at the concert was fantastic.	Stemningin á tónleikunum var frábær.
Could you explain the opera?	Gætirðu útskýrt óperuna?
Do you miss your youth?	Saknar þú æskunnar?
Did you enjoy the vacation?	Nutuð þið frísins?