Conjugation Charts
While the ideas of conjugation and inflection may seem intimidating and confusing at first, fear not! Tools and patterns are available that can help you memorize and internalize the ideas behind inflection.
What Is A Conjugation Chart?
Using conjugation charts is the standard way in which the different forms of a word are displayed. They can be organized by different characteristics called aspects, but the standard way to organize them--and the way this course will do so unless otherwise noted--is by person and plurality with one chart for the present and one chart for the past tense.
Note: Verbs also inflect differently depending on the characteristics of mood, voice, personal or impersonal usage, and more, and different charts can be used to reflect these characteristics. These additional aspects are not addressed further in this course because they are not important for the beginner to know and would become unduly complicated.
| pres. bake | Sing. | Plur. |
|---|---|---|
| 1st. | bake | bake |
| 2nd. | bake | bake |
| 3rd. | bakes | bake |
| past bake | Sing. | Plur. |
|---|---|---|
| 1st. | baked | baked |
| 2nd. | baked | baked |
| 3rd. | baked | baked |
The Elements Of A Conjugation Chart
Person and plurality refer to how close the subject of the verb is to the person creating the sentence and whether that subject is a single person or a group.
| subjects | Sing. | Plur. |
|---|---|---|
| 1st. | I | we / við |
| 2nd. | you | y'all / þið |
| 3rd. | he* / hann* | they / þeir* |
The subjects I and we are both first person because they are as close to the speaker as possible. When you use I or we, you are referring to an action that you did or a group including yourself. The subjects you and y'all are the next level away. You use them when you are directly addressing somebody or a group. The subjects he and they are the furthest away. When you use them, you are referring to a person or group abstractly.
I, you, and he are singular because they only refer to one individual. We, y'all, and they are plural because they refer to multiple people.
A Note On He And Hann
As you have likely noticed, the subjects he and hann are accompanied by asterisks in conjugation charts. This is done because they could be swapped for other words. The words he and hann have been chosen because they are standardly used in these tables alongside she and it or hún and það, and using only one of these words saves considerable tablespace.
The word he in the conjugation chart could be replaced with any other singular noun, and the accompanying conjugation for that word as a subject would be correct. This includes she, it, John, Eifel Tower, cat, computer, or anything else that you can think of.
Example 1: He bakes.
Example 2: She bakes.
Example 3: It bakes.
Example 4: John bakes.
Example 5: The Eifel Tower bakes.
The same is true of the word hann (he). It could be replaced with any other singular noun in Icelandic, and the accompanying conjugation for that word as a subject would be correct.
Example 1: Hann bakar.
Example 2: Hún bakar.
Example 3: Það bakar.
Example 4: Jón bakar.
Example 5: Eiffel turninn bakar.
A Note On Þeir
There is a similar story with þeir as there is to he and han, but with one twist. As you could probably guess, þeir could be swapped with any plural noun or two singular nouns, and the accompanying conjugation for that word as a subject would be correct.
Example 1: Þeir baka - (They bake.)
Example 2: Kettir baka. - (Cats bake.)
Example 3: Tölvur baka. - (Compluters bake.)
Example 4: Tölva og köttur baka. - (A computer and a cat bake.)
The twist is that similar to how English has he, she, and it depends on the gender of the thing referred to is masculine, feminine, or neuter, Icelandic has three versions of the word they depending on the gender of the things referred to: þeir, þær, and þau. Essentially, you can think of these are plural versions of hann, hún, or það. Put another way, if the they is made up of two hes, use þeir. If it is made up of two shes, use þær. If it is made up of two its, or a mixture of two or more genders, use þau. Below, find this explained in a chart.
| This | Plus | Equals |
|---|---|---|
| hann | hann | þeir |
| hún | hún | þær |
| það | það | þau |
| this* | not this* | þau |
Now I Know:
- how conjugation charts are organized and how to read them
- what person and plurality refer to
- what subject pronouns each cell in a conjugation table refers to
- that the first person singular and plural sections of the chart can be replaced with other words, and their conjugations would be correct
- that Icelandic has three versions of they and when they are used