Conjugating -i Verbs in the Present Tense

By
Siggi
May 11, 2024
Share this article
Many people building a house.
Instructions
If you intend to use this component with Finsweet's Table of Contents attributes follow these steps:
  1. Remove the current class from the content27_link item as Webflows native current state will automatically be applied.
  2. To add interactions which automatically expand and collapse sections in the table of contents select the content27_h-trigger element, add an element trigger and select Mouse click (tap)
  3. For the 1st click select the custom animation Content 28 table of contents [Expand] and for the 2nd click select the custom animation Content 28 table of contents [Collapse].
  4. In the Trigger Settings, deselect all checkboxes other than Desktop and above. This disables the interaction on tablet and below to prevent bugs when scrolling.

-i verbs are the second-largest category of verbs, accounting for about 15% of all verb use. Conjugating -i verbs in the present tense is really no problem, as they’re about as regular as the -a verbs.

If you’re wondering how you can tell which verbs are -i verbs, check out my Overview of the Icelandic Verb Categories.

When you’d like to move on to the past tense, I’ve got you covered right here.

Now, let’s make conjugating -i verbs in the present tense a little easier! 

Rule of Thumb

Basically, it works like this.

  1. Remove the infinitive ending, then 
  2. add the appropriate ending

Let’s take a look at a few examples of what that looks like.


The Infinitive Ending

The infinitive ending can be:

  • -a (like gera, reyna, bæta)
  • -ja (like byggja, fylgja, samþykkja)
  • no ending at all (like skrá, spá, tjá)

Let’s take a look at some examples of what that looks like.

-a Infinitive Ending

For the 3rd person plural (þeir, þær, þau) we don’t add an ending: it’s just exactly like the infinitive. It LOOKS like an -a ending, but saying it’s an -a ending would break down in these next groups.

-ja Infinitive Ending

For the -ja verbs, notice that the j pops back up in the 1st person plural (við) in the spelling. Yes, the spelling rules surrounding j can be quite convoluted at times, but that’s beyond the scope of this article. Focus on the sound, not the spelling.


Verbs Without an Infinitive Ending

These all end in -á, but it’s part of the stem; it’s not the infinitive ending. 

These verbs are part of the reason we think of the 3rd person plural (þeir, þær, þau) as being like the infinitive, rather than having an ending. This makes the system all nice and regular.


Irregularities

Some verbs don’t like being pegged to just one category. You’ll occasionally run into words which sometimes conjugate like -i verbs but sometimes like strong verbs.

You can check out my articles on hybrid verbs and ey-j-ur verbs for a review of this loose conglomeration of verbs that sort of passes as a category.