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Ten Midvoice Verbs You Should Know

· 5 min read
Tbrennan
Tbrennan
Project Founder

Good day!

This is the second post in a series called "You Should Know", where we

Midvoice verbs (those that end in -st) are often scary for Icelandic learners, and for a valid reason: they can be pretty confusing. Midvoice verbs are used to cover a lot of ground in Icelandic. They can be used to create reflexive meanings, reciprocal meanings, possibility-related meanings, and even entirely brand-new verbs wholly unrelated to their non-midvoice counterpart, if such even exists. And, to make matters worse, they are everywhere!

While this post is not an in-depth discussion about the intricacies of midvoice verbs (that will be Here when I make it), it will give you a list of some of the most common mid-voice verbs that an emerging intermediate learner needs to know. They are presented roughly in order of importance.

Note: Many of the following mid-voice verbs are also impersonal verbs. I have decided to classify these as midvoice instead of impersonal.

Note: No regular, impersonal, or phrasal verbs will be covered in this list. These verb types will each receive their own dedicated post!

10. Grínast​

"Að grínast" means "To joke." It is most commonly used in short expressions like the following two examples.

  1. Ertu að grínast? - (Are you joking?)
  2. Ég var bara að grínast. - (I was just joking.)

9. (Dat) takast​

"Að takast" can be used with a dative person or a nominative non-person subject, but it is most common with the former. With a dative subject, it is used to mean that somebody "managed to/ succeed in" doing something. With a nominative subject, it means that something "occurred" or "went" either successfully or not successfully, depending on accompanying adverbs.

  1. Mér tókst að læra íslensku. - ( I managed to learn Icelandic.)
  2. Henni tekst að finna hann. - (She succeeds in finding him.)
  3. Tókst ykkur að drepa hann? - (Did y'all manage to kill him?)
  4. Aðgerðin tókst illa. - (The operation went poorly.)

8. Efast​

"Að efast" means "To doubt" and can be used for beliefs, facts, or people. It is almost always used with the preposition "Um" following it.

  1. Ég efast um það. - (I doubt it.)
  2. Þú efast um margt - (You doubt a lot of things.)
  3. Ég efast um hana. - (I doubt her.)

7. Bregðast við (dat)​

"Að bregðast við" means "To react." It can be used to talk about responding to both physical and non-physical things.

  1. Hvernig brást hann við því? - (How did he react to that?)
  2. Þeir bregðast við hreyfingunni - (They react to the movement. )
  3. Hann mun bregðast við ef við þrýstum á hann. - (He will react if we pressure him.)

6. Virðast​

"Að virðast" means "To seem." Much like "Að takast," this verb can be used with a dative person or a nominative non-person subject. With a dative subject, the subject is the one to whom the nominative noun, which will now follow the verb, is "Seeming" to be in some way. With a nominative subject, the subject is the thing that "Seems" to be a certain way.

  1. Hann virðist vera reiður. - (He seems to be mad.)
  2. Mér virðist hún vera klár. - (He seems smart to me.)
  3. Bollinn virðist tómur. - (The cup seems empty.)

5. Segjast​

"Að segjast" is used to talk about things that relate back to the speaker, such as what one is or what one plans for oneself. It can usually be translated as "X says that X..."

  1. Hann segist vera í Bretlandi. - (He says that he is in Britain.)
  2. Hún sagðist vera að læra íslensku. - (She says that she's learning Icelandic.)
  3. Hvað segist? - (What's up?)

4. Búast við (dat)​

"Að búast við" means to expect.

  1. Hann er sterkari en ég bjóst við! - (You're stronger than I expected!)
  2. Ég býst við því. - (I expected it.)
  3. Býstu við hinu versta! - (Expect the worst!)

3. Komast (til staðar)​

"Að komast" means "To be able to go/get to."

  1. Ég kemst ekki inn á vefsíðuna þína. - (I can't get to your website.)
  2. Hvernig komst hann til Reykjavíkur? - (How did he get to Reykjavík?)
  3. Vonandi kemst þú heim - (Hopefully, you are able to get home.

2. Gerast​

"Að gerast" means "to happen" and is most commonly used in questions.

  1. Hvað er að gerast? - (What is happening?)
  2. Hvað gerðist? - (What happened?)
  3. Það gerðist um nóttina. - (That happened over the night.)

1. (Dat) finnast​

Probably the most important midvoice verb, "Að finnast," is used to express an opinion. This makes it distinct from "Að halda," which was discussed in the last post and is used for facts. Between the object and the opinion, there is the option to insert the word "Vera," which does not change the meaning.

  1. Mér finnst hann góður kennari. - (I think he's a good teacher.)
  2. Hvað finnst þér um þau? - (How do you feel about them?)
  3. Mér finnst hún alltaf vera það - (I feel she is always that way.)