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Icelandic

Icelandic strictly distinguishes between moving in a direction and being located in a place.

### Moving Up and Down (Motion)

When actively moving, use **upp** (up) and **niður** (down).

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### Being Upstairs and Downstairs (Position)

When you are already in a location, add **-i** to the directional word: **uppi** (up/upstairs) and **niðri** (down/downstairs).

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### Motion vs. Position

Compare moving onto a roof versus already being there:

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Similarly, contrast looking up at a ceiling versus something resting on it:

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### At the Top and Bottom

To describe the highest or lowest point of a space, use the static adverbs **efst** (at the top) and **neðst** (at the bottom).

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Vertical position and motion adverbs (upp, niður)

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
down	niður
the stairs	stiginn
Go carefully down the stairs!	Farðu varlega niður stigann!
downstairs / down (location)	niðri
The boy is waiting downstairs in the basement.	Strákurinn bíður niðri í kjallaranum.
the elevator	lyftan
I take the elevator up.	Ég tek lyftuna upp.
upstairs / up (location)	uppi
The family is upstairs.	Fjölskyldan er uppi.
the roof	þakið
The cat jumps up on the roof.	Kötturinn hoppar upp á þakið.
He sits up on the roof.	Hann situr uppi á þakinu.
the ceiling	loftið
Look up at the ceiling!	Horfðu upp í loftið!
The light is up in the ceiling.	Ljósið er uppi í loftinu.
at the bottom	neðst
The cat is at the bottom of the stairs.	Kötturinn er neðst í stiganum.
Have you gone down in the elevator?	Hefur þú farið niður með lyftunni?
at the top	efst
The apartment is at the top.	Íbúðin er efst.
the step (stair)	þrepið
Watch the step!	Passaðu þrepið!
The kitchen is downstairs.	Eldhúsið er niðri.
Have we stopped at the top?	Höfum við stoppað efst?
I step up onto the step.	Ég stíg upp á þrepið.
The basement is at the bottom.	Kjallarinn er neðst.
from above, down from	ofan
The snow comes down from the mountain.	Snjórinn kemur ofan af fjallinu.
I take the parcel down from the shelf.	Ég tek pakkann ofan úr hillunni.
forward, out (into the front room)	fram
He walks out into the kitchen.	Hann gengur fram í eldhúsið.
Come out and eat!	Komdu fram og borðaðu!
in front, at the front	framan
The bus is in front of the school.	Strætóinn er fyrir framan skólann.
I stand in front of the table.	Ég stend framan við borðið.
from behind, at the back	aftan
The dog comes up behind me.	Hundurinn kemur aftan að mér.
The garden is behind the school.	Garðurinn er aftan við skólann.
behind (á bak við)	bak
He is behind the tree.	Hann er á bak við tréð.
The cat runs behind the sofa.	Kötturinn hleypur á bak við sófann.

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