Formation of Tenses

Icelandic has fourteen tenses, four basic and the rest being formed with the auxiliary verbs hafa or munu + the supine or infinitive.

The tenses of að tala (to speak, tell) are as follows:

Some verbs use vera or verða instead of hafa as an auxiliary, often verbs involving motion.

The tenses of að fara (to go) are as follows:

The Passive Voice

The passive voice is formed using vera or verða plus the Past Participle.

For example, kalla -- to call:

Notes:

• Verða may be used in the Past Passive.
• In the Future Passive, verða may be used in its Present Tense without munu, for example: Hann verður flengdur instead of Hann mun verða flengdur (He will be flogged).
• When the Passive Conditional is used in the Subjunctive form (e.g. in indirect speech), verða is used without munu, for example: Ég hélt, að hann yrði drepinn -- I thought that he would be killed.

The Middle Voice

The Middle Voice is formed by the addition of the ending -st to the Active verb, in any tense. When this results in the occurence of the letters ds, ðs or ts in the same syllable such that only the -s sound is pronounced, the d, ð or t is dropped, for example: stend + st = stenst; bregð + st = bregst; læt + st = læst.

The fourteen tenses of the Middle Voice of the verb kalla -- to call, are as follows:

Notes:

• The Middle Voice has four principal uses:
• Reflexive. The original meaning of the Middle Voice. For example, klæða -- to dress, gives klæðast -- to dress oneself;
• Reciprocal. The Middle Voice ending may indicate hvor annan -- each other. For example, Þeir hittust is equivalent to Þeir hittu hvor annan -- They met (each other);
• Passive. Hann kallast can mean the same as Hann er kallaður;
• Intransitive. Several transitive verbs have intransitive counterparts formed using the Middle Voice, for example: kvelja/kveljast -- to torture; gleðja/gleðjast -- to gladden/rejoice; mata/matast -- to feed/eat.
• Middle Voice Verbs. Several verbs exist only in the Middle Voice. Examples include nálgast -- to approach;annast -- to take care of; heppnast -- to succeed;óttast -- to fear;vingast við -- to become freindly with;öðlast -- to obtain.

Impersonal Verbs

Certain verbs are used only in the third person singular, and usually refer to natural events (the weather, passage of time, etc.):

• það dagar -- it is dawn(ing);
• það kvöldar -- it is becoming evening;
• það dimmir -- it is getting dark;
• það vorar -- it is becoming Spring;
• það haustar -- it is becoming Fall;
• það hitnar -- it is getting warm;
• það kólnar -- it is getting cold;
• það snjóar/fennir -- it is snowing;
• það rignir -- it is raining;
• það geisar -- a gale is blowing.

Certain impersonal verbs are used with the accusative personal pronoun:

• Mig, þig, hann, osfr. þyrstir, hungrar, etc. -- I am thirsty, hungry, etc.;
• Það munar miklu -- it makes a great difference;
• Mig munar um hverja krónuna -- Every krona makes a difference to me;
• Mig langar til að gera það -- I long to do that;
• Mig dreymdi vel (illa) í nótt -- I had a nice (bad) dream last night.

Impersonal Use of Ordinary Verbs/The Dative Construction

This impersonal construction is very common in Icelandic. The logical subject of a sentence is forced into the Dative case by the impersonal (third person) use of the verb. Some examples:

• Mér hefur oft dottið í hug að læra ensku;
• Mér er heitt (kalt);
• Mér þykir gaman að lesa sögurnar;
• Honum hefði verið betra að fara eftir mínum ráðum;
• Mér líkar vel við þig;
• Honum skeikar ekki;
• Mér batnar/versnar;
• Honum batnaði seint;
• Mér finnst það gott;
• Þeim laust saman.

Prepositions

• Prepositions Governing the Accusative.
• Prepositions Governing the Dative.
• Prepositions Governing the Accusative or Dative.
• Prepositions Governing the Genitive.
• Prepositional Phrases.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 785