Rights for this book: Public domain in the USA. This edition is published by Project Gutenberg. Originally issued by Project Gutenberg on 2004-04-01. To support the work of Project Gutenberg, visit their Donation Page. This free ebook has been produced by GITenberg, a program of the Free Ebook Foundation. If you have corrections or improvements to make to this ebook, or you want to use the source files for this ebook, visit the book's github repository. You can support the work of the Free Ebook Foundation at their Contributors Page. The Project Gutenberg EBook of An Icelandic Primer, by Henry Sweet Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the header without written permission. 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You can also find out about how to make a donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. **Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** **eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** *****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** Title: An Icelandic Primer With Grammar, Notes, and Glossary Author: Henry Sweet Release Date: April, 2004 [EBook #5424] [Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] [This file was first posted on July 14, 2002] Edition: 10 Language: English Character set encoding: Unicode UTF-8 *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ICELANDIC PRIMER *** Image files scanned in by Sean Crist <kurisuto@unagi.cis.upenn.edu> http://www.ling.upenn.edu/~kurisuto/germanic/oi_sweet_about.html OCRed and reformatted for Project Gutenberg by Ben Crowder <crowderb@blankslate.net> http://www.blankslate.net/lang/etexts.php AN ICELANDIC PRIMER With Grammar, Notes, and Glossary By Henry Sweet, M.A. SECOND EDITION 1895 PREFACE The want of a short and easy introduction to the study of Icelandic has been felt for a long time—in fact, from the very beginning of that study in England. The Icelandic Reader , edited by Messrs. Vigfusson and Powell, in the Clarendon Press Series, is a most valuable book, which ought to be in the hands of every student; but it still leaves room for an elementary primer. As the engagements of the editors of the Reader would have made it impossible for them to undertake such a work for some years to come, they raised no objections to my proposal to undertake it myself. Meanwhile, I found the task was a more formidable one than I had anticipated, and accordingly, before definitely committing myself to it, I made one final attempt to induce Messrs. Vigfusson and Powell to take it off my hands; but they very kindly encouraged me to proceed with it; and as I myself thought that an Icelandic primer, on the lines of my Anglo-Saxon one, might perhaps be the means of inducing some students of Old English to take up Icelandic as well, I determined to go on. In the spelling I have not thought it necessary to adhere strictly to that adopted in the Reader, for the editors have themselves deviated from it in their Corpus Poeticum Boreale , in the way of separating ╟½ from ├╢ , etc. My own principle has been to deviate as little as possible from the traditional spelling followed in normalized texts. There is, indeed, no practical gain for the beginner in writing t─½me for t─½mi , discarding ├░ , etc., although these changes certainly bring us nearer the oldest MSS., and cannot be dispensed with in scientific works. The essential thing for the beginner is to have regular forms presented to him, to the exclusion, as far as possible, of isolated archaisms, and to have the defective distinctions of the MSS. supplemented by diacritics. I have not hesitated to substitute (┬») for (┬┤) as the mark of length; the latter ought in my opinion to be used exclusively—in Icelandic as well as in Old English and Old Irish—to represent the actual accents of the MSS. In the grammar I have to acknowledge my great obligations to Noreen's Altisl├ñndische Grammatik , which is by far the best Icelandic grammar that has yet appeared—at least from that narrow point of view which ignores syntax, and concentrates itself on phonology and inflections. The texts are intended to be as easy, interesting, and representative as possible. With such a language, and such a master of it as Snorri to choose from, this combination is not difficult to realise. The beginner is indeed to be envied who makes his first acquaintance with the splendid mythological tales of the North, told in an absolutely perfect style. As the death of Olaf Tryggvason is given in the Reader only from the longer recension of the Heimskringla, I have been able to give the shorter text, which is admirably suited for the purposes of this book. The story of Au├░un is not only a beautiful one in itself, but, together with the preceding piece, gives a vivid idea of the Norse ideal of the kingly character, which was the foundation of their whole political system. As the Reader does not include poetry (except incidentally), I have added one of the finest of the Eddaic poems, which is at the same time freest from obscurity and corruption—the song of Thor's quest of his hammer. In the glossary I have ventured to deviate from the very inconvenient Scandinavian arrangement, which puts ├╛ , ├ª , ┼ô , right at the end of the alphabet. I have to acknowledge the great help I have had in preparing the texts and the glossary from Wimmer's Oldnordisk L├ªsebog , which I consider to be, on the whole, the best reading-book that exists in any language. So excellent is Wimmer's selection of texts, that it was impossible for me to do otherwise than follow him in nearly every case. In conclusion, it is almost superfluous to say that this book makes no pretension to originality of any kind. If it contributes towards restoring to Englishmen that precious heritage—the old language and literature of Iceland—which our miserably narrow scheme of education has hitherto defrauded them of, it will have fulfilled its purpose. HENRY SWEET London, February, 1886 GRAMMAR 1. This book deals with Old Icelandic in its classical period, between 1200 and 1350. PRONUNCIATION 2. The Icelandic alphabet was founded on the Latin, with the addition of ├╛ and ├░ , and of the modified letters ─Ö , ╟½ , ├╕ , which last is in this book written ├╢ , ╟½╠ê Vowels 3. The vowel-letters had nearly the same values as in Old English. Long vowels were often marked by (┬┤). In this book long vowels are regularly marked by (┬»)[1]. The following are the elementary vowels and diphthongs, with examples, and key-words from English, French (F.), and German (G.):— [Footnote 1: Note that the longs of ─Ö , ├╢ are written ├ª , ┼ô , respectively.] a as in mann (G.) halda ( hold ) ─ü " father r─ü├░ ( advice ) e " ├⌐t├⌐ (F.) gekk ( went ) ─ô[2] . . . l─ôt (let pret. ) ─Ö " men m─Önn ( men ) [Footnote 2: Where no keyword is given for a long vowel, its sound is that of the corresponding short vowel lengthened.] ├ª as in there s├ªr ( sea ) i " fini (F.) mikill ( great ) ─½ . . . l─½till ( little ) o " beau (F.) or├░ ( word ) ┼ì . . . t┼ìk ( look ) ╟½ " not h╟½nd ( hand ) ├╢ " peu (F.) k├╢mr ( comes ) ┼ô . . . f┼ôra ( bring ) ╟½╠ê " peur (F.) g╟½╠êra ( make ) u " sou (F.) upp ( up ) ┼½ . . . h┼½s ( house ) y " tu (F.) systir ( sister ) ╚│ . . . l╚│sa ( shine ) au " haus (G.) lauss ( loose ) ei = ─Ö + i bein ( bone ) ey = ─Ö + y leysa ( loosen ) 4. The unaccented i in systir , etc. (which is generally written e in the MSS.) probably had the sound of y in pity , which is really between i and e . The unacc. u in f┼ìru (they went), etc. (which is generally written o in the MSS.) probably had the sound of oo in good Note that several of the vowels go in pairs of close and open , thus: close : e ─ô o ┼ì ├╢ ┼ô open : ─Ö ├ª ╟½ - ╟½╠ê - Consonants 5. Double consonants followed by a vowel must be pronounced really double, as in Italian. Thus the kk in drekka (to drink) must be pronounced like the kc in bookcase , while the k in dr─Öki (dragon) is single, as in booking . When final (or followed by another cons.) double conss. are pronounced long, as in munn (mouth acc. ), hamarr (hammer nom. ), steinn (stone nom. ), distinguished from mun (will vb. ), and the accusatives hamar , stein 6. k and g had a more front (palatal) sound before the front vowels e , ─Ö , i , ├╢ , ╟½╠ê , y , and their longs, as also before j , as in k─Önna (known), keyra (drive), g╟½╠êra (make), liggja (lie). 7. kkj , ggj were probably pronounced simply as double front kk , gg , the j not being pronounced separately. 8. *f* had initially the sound of our f , medially and finally that of v , as in gefa (give), gaf (gave), except of course in such combinations as ft , where it had the sound of f 9. *g* was a stopped (back or front—guttural or palatal) cons. initially and in the combination ng , the two g 's in ganga (go) being pronounced as in go . It had the open sound of G. g in sagen medially before the back vowels a , o , ╟½ , u , and all conss. except j , and finally:— saga (tale), d╟½gum (with days); sag├░i (he said); lag (he lay). Before the front vowels and j it had the sound of G. g in liegen , or nearly that of j (our y ), as in s─Ögir (says), s─Ögja (to say). 10. Before voiceless conss. ( t , s ) g seems to have been pronounced k , as in sagt (said), dags (day's). 11. The g was always sounded in the combination ng , as in single , not as in singer 12. *h* was sounded before j in such words as hjarta (heart) much as in E. hue (= hj┼½). hl , hn , hr , hv probably represented voiceless l , n , r , w respectively, hv being identical with E. wh : hlaupa (leap), hn─½ga (bend), hringr (ring), hvat (what). 13. *j* is not distinguished from i in the MSS. It had the sound of E. y in young : j╟½r├░ (earth), s─Ötja (to set). 14. *p* in pt probably had the sound of f : lopt (air). 15. *r* was always a strong point trill, as in Scotch. 16. *s* was always sharp. 17. *v* (which was sometimes written u and w ) had the sound of E. w : vel (well), h╟½ggva (hew). 18. *z* had the sound of ts : b─Öztr (best). 19. *├╛* and *├░* were used promiscuously in the older MS., the very oldest using ├╛ almost exclusively. In Modern Icelandic ├╛ is written initially to express the sound of E. hard th , ├░ medially and finally to express that of soft th ; as there can be no doubt that this usage corresponds with the old pronunciation, it is retained in this book: ├╛ing (parliament), fa├░ir (father), vi├░ (against). In such combinations as p├░ the ├░ must of course be pronounced ├╛ Stress 20. The stress (accent) is always on the first syllable. PHONOLOGY Vowels 21. The vowels are related to one another in different ways, the most important of which are mutation (umlaut), fracture (brechung), and gradation (ablaut). Mutation 22. The following changes are *i*-mutations (caused by an older i or j following, which has generally been dropped)[3]: [Footnote 3: Many of the i 's which appear in derivative and inflectional syllables are late weakenings of a and other vowels, as in bani (death) = Old English bana ; these do not cause mutation.] *a* (*╟½*) ... *─Ö* :— mann (man acc. ), m─Önn (men); h╟½nd (hand), h─Öndr (hands). *─ü* ... *├ª* :— m─ül (speech), m├ªla (speak). *e* (*ja*, *j╟½*) ... *i* :— ver├░r (worth), vir├░a (estimate). *u* (*o*) ... *y* :— fullr (full), fylla (to fill); lopt (air), lypta (lift). *┼½* ... *╚│* :— br┼½n (eyebrow), pl. br╚│nn *o* ... *├╢* :— koma (to come), k├╢mr (comes). *┼ì* ... *┼ô* :— f┼ìr (went), f┼ôra (bring). *au* ... *ey* :— lauss (loose), leysa (loosen). *j┼½* (*j┼ì*) ... *╚│* :— sj┼½kr (sick), s╚│ki (sickness); lj┼ìsta (strike), l╚│str (strikes). 23. The change of a into ─Ö is sometimes the result of a following k , g , or ng , as in d─Ögi dat. sg. of dagr (day), t─Ökinn (taken), g─Önginn (gone), inf. taka , ganga i appears instead of e , and u instead of o before a nasal followed by another cons.: cp. binda (to bind), bundinn (bound) with bresta (burst) ptc. prt. brostinn 24. There is also a *u*-mutation, caused by a following u , which has often been dropped: *a* ... *╟½* :— dagr (day) dat. pl. d╟½gum ; land (land) pl. l╟½nd 25. Unaccented ╟½ becomes u , as in sumur pl. of sumar (summer), k╟½llu├░u (they called), infin. kalla Fracture 26. The only vowel that is affected by fracture is e : when followed by original a it becomes ja , when followed by original u it becomes j╟½ , as in jar├░ar gen. of j╟½r├░ (earth)[4]. When followed by original i , the e is, of course, mutated to i , as in skildir plur. nom. of skj╟½ldr (shield), gen. skjaldar [Footnote 4: Cp. German erde .] Gradation 27. By gradation the vowels are related as follows:— *a* ... *┼ì* :— fara (go) pret. f┼ìr , whence by mut. f┼ôra (bring). *e* (i, ja) ... *a* ... *u* (o) :— bresta (burst), prt. brast , prt. pl. brustu , ptc. prt. brostinn ; finna (find), fundinn (found ptc. ), fundr (meeting). *e* ... *a* ... *─ü* ... *o* :— stela (steal), prt. stal , prt. pl. st─ülu , ptc. prt. stolinn *e* ... *a* ... *─ü* ... *e* :— gefa (give), gaf (he gave), g─üfu (they gave), gefinn (given), gj╟½f (gift), u -fracture of gef- , g├ªfa (luck) mut. of g─üf- *─½* ... *ei* ... *i* :— sk─½na (shine), skein (he shone), skinu (they shone). s┼ìl-skin (sunshine). *j┼½* (j┼ì) ... *au* ... *u* ... *o* :— lj┼½ga (tell a lie), prt. laug , prt. pl. lugu , ptc. prt. loginn lygi (lie sbst. ) mut. of lug- skj┼ìta (shoot), skj┼ìtr (swift), skotinn (shot ptc. ), skot (shot subst. ). Other changes 28. All final vowels are long in accented syllables: ├╛─ü (then), n┼½ (now). 29. Inflectional and derivative vowels are often dropt after long accented vowels: cp. ganga (to go) with f─ü (to get), the dat. plurals knj─üm (knees) with h┼½sum (houses). 30. Vowels are often lengthened before l + cons.: h─ülfr (half adj. ), f┼ìlk (people); cp. f┼ìlginn (hidden) with brostinn (burst ptc. ). Consonants 31. v is dropped before o and u : vaxa (to grow), prt. ┼ìx , vinna (to win), unninn (won ptc. ), svelta (to starve), soltinn (starved, hungry). Final r is often assimilated to a preceding cons. 32. *-lr , *-nr , *-sr always become -ll , -nn , -ss after a long vowel or diphthong, as in st┼ìll (chair nom. ), acc. st┼ìl , steinn (stone nom. ), acc. stein , v─½ss (wise masc. nom. sg. ), v─½s fem. nom. sg., and in unacc. syllables, as in the masc. sg. nominatives mikill (great), fem. mikil , borinn (carried), fem. borin , ╚│miss (various) fem. ╚│mis 33. Words in which l , n , r , s are preceded by a cons. drop the r entirely, as in the masc. nominatives jarl (earl), hrafn (raven), vitr (wise), ├╛urs (giant), lax (salmon). 34. If l and n are preceded by a short accented vowel, the r is generally kept, as in stelr (steals), vinr , (friend), sr becoming ss , as elsewhere. 35. r is kept after ll , and generally after nn , as in the masc. nom. allr (all), and in br─Önnr (burns). 36. z often stands for ├░s as well as ts , as in ├╛─ôr ├╛ykkizk (ye seem) = *├╛ykki├░-sk , Vest-firzkr (belonging to the West Firths) = -*fir├░skr ( f╟½r├░r , firth). 37. Inflectional t is generally doubled after a long accented vowel: f─ür (few) neut. f─ütt (cp. allr 'all,' neut. allt ), s─ü (I saw), s─ütt 'thou sawest.' INFLECTIONS Nouns 38. *Gender*. There are three genders in Icelandic—masculine, feminine, and neuter. The gender is partly natural, partly grammatical, generally agreeing with the gender in Old English. Compound words follow the gender of their last element. 39. *Strong and Weak*. All weak nouns end in a vowel in the nom. sg. and in most of the other cases as well. Most strong nouns end in a cons. in the nom. sg. 40. *Cases*. There are four cases—nominative, accusative, dative, genitive. All nouns (except a few contractions) have the gen. pl. in -a ( fiska , of fishes), and the dat. pl. in -um ( fiskum ). All strong masculines ( fiskr ) and some strong feminines ( br┼½├░r , bride) take r [5] in the nom. sg. Most strong feminines show the bare root in the nom. sg. with u -mutation, if possible ( ─üst , favour, f╟½r , journey). The nom. pl. of all strong masc. and fem. nouns ends in r ( fiskar , ─üstir ). The acc. pl. of fem. nouns is the same as the nom. pl. ( ─üstir ). The acc. pl. of masc. strong nouns always ends in a vowel ( fiska ). The plur. nom. and acc. of neuters is the same as the sing. nom. and acc., except that in the plur. nom. and acc. they take u -mutation, if possible ( h┼½s , houses, l╟½nd , lands). [Footnote 5: Subject, of course, to the assimilations described above.] 41. The declensions are most conveniently distinguished by the acc. plur. Strong Masculines (1) a-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. fisk-r ( fish ) fisk-ar Acc. fisk fisk-a Dat. fisk-i fisk-um Gen. fisk-s fisk-a 42. So also heimr (home, world); konungr (king); ├₧┼ìrr (Thor), acc. ├₧┼ìr , gen. ├₧┼ìrs ; steinn (stone), acc. stein , gen. steins , pl. nom. steinar ; hrafn (raven), acc. hrafn , pl. nom. hrafnar ; ├╛urs (giant), acc. gen. ├╛urs , pl. nom. ├╛ursar 43. Dissyllables in -r , -l , -n generally throw out the preceding vowel before a vowel-inflection: hamarr (hammer), dat. hamri ; j╟½tunn (giant), pl. nom. j╟½tnar k─Ötill (kettle) and lykill (key) show unmutated vowels in the contracted forms, as in the acc. plur. katla , lukla 44. Some nouns of this decl. take -ar in the gen. sing., especially proper names, such as H─ükon , gen. H─ükonar 45. Some nouns add v before vowels: s├ªr (sea), gen. s├ªvar 46. The dat. sometimes drops the i : s├ª (sea), ├₧┼ìr dagr (day) mutates its vowel in the dat. d─Ögi 47. Nouns in -ir keep the i in the sing., and drop it in the plur.: SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. h─Ölli-r ( cave ) h─Öll-ar Acc. h─Ölli h─Öll-a Dat. h─Ölli h─Öll-um Gen. h─Ölli-s h─Öll-a 48. So also a number of proper names, such as Skr╚│mir , ├₧┼ìrir (2) i-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. sta├░-r ( place ) sta├░-ir Acc. sta├░ sta├░-i Dat. sta├░ st╟½├░-um Gen. sta├░-ar sta├░-a 49. So also gripr (precious thing), salr (hall). 50. g─Östr (guest) takes -i in the dat. sg., and -s in the gen. sg. 51. Those ending in g or k (together with some others) insert j before a and u : b─Ökkr (bench), b─Ökk , b─Ökk , b─Ökkjar ; b─Ökkir , b─Ökki , b─Ökkjum , b─Ökkja . So also m─Örgr (marrow), str─Öngr (string). (3) u-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. skj╟½ld-r ( shield ) skild-ir Acc. skj╟½ld skj╟½ld-u Dat. skild-i skj╟½ld-um Gen. skjald-ar skjald-a 52. So also v╟½ndr (twig), v╟½llr (plain), vi├░r (wood). ─üss (god) has plur. nom. ├ªsir , acc. ─üsu sonr (son) has dat. sg. syni , plur. nom. synir . It regularly drops its r of the nom. in such compounds as Tryggva-son (son of Tryggvi). (4) r-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. f┼ìt-r ( foot ) f┼ôt-r Acc. f┼ìt f┼ôt-r Dat. f┼ôt-i f┼ìt-um Gen. f┼ìt-ar f┼ìt-a 53. So also fingr (finger), gen. fingrar , pl. fingr ; vetr (winter), pl. vetr ma├░r (man) is irregular: ma├░r , mann , manni , manns ; m─Önn , m─Önn , m╟½nnum , manna SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. fa├░ir ( father ) f─Ö├░r Acc. f╟½├░ur f─Ö├░r Dat. f╟½├░ur f─Ö├░rum Gen. f╟½├░ur f─Ö├░ra 54. So also br┼ì├░ir (brother), pl. br┼ô├░r 55. Pres. participles used as nouns follow this decl. in the pl., following the weak class in the sg.: SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. b┼ìndi ( yeoman ) b┼ôndr Acc. b┼ìnda b┼ôndr Dat. b┼ìnda b┼ìndum Gen. b┼ìnda b┼ìnda 56. So also fr┼ôndi (kinsman), pl. fr┼ôndr Strong Neuters SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. skip ( ship ) skip Acc. skip skip Dat. skip-i skip-um Gen. skip-s skip-a 57. So also or├░ (word), land (land) pl. l╟½nd , sumar (summer) pl. sumur (┬º 25). 58. m─Ön (necklace), kyn (race), grey (dog) insert j before a and u : greyjum h╟½gg (stroke) inserts v before a vowel: h╟½ggvi kn─ô (knee), kn─ô , kn─ô , kn─ôs ; kn─ô , kn─ô , kj─üm , knj─ü . So also tr─ô (tree). 59. f─ô (money) is contracted: gen. fj─ür , dat. f─ô SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. kv├ª├░i ( poem ) kv├ª├░i Acc. kv├ª├░i kv├ª├░i Dat. kv├ª├░i kv├ª├░um Gen. kv├ª├░i-s kv├ª├░a 60. So also kl├ª├░i (cloth). Those in k insert j before a and u : m─Örki (mark), m─Örkjum , m─Örkja So also r─½ki (sovereignty). Strong Feminines (1) ar-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. gj╟½f ( gift ) gjaf-ar Acc. gj╟½f gjaf-ar Dat. gj╟½f gj╟½f-um Gen. gjaf-ar gjaf- a 61. So also m╟½n (mane), gj╟½r├░ (girdle), ─ür (oar). 62. ─ü (river) contracts: ─ü , ─ü , ─ü , ─ür ; ─ür , ─ür , ─üm , ─ü 63. Many take -u in the dat. sg.: k─Örling (old woman), k─Örling , k─Örlingu , k─Örlingar ; k─Örlingar , k─Örlingar , k─Örlingum , k─Örlinga . So also laug (bath). 64. Those with a mutated root-vowel (or i ) insert j in inflection: ey (island), ey , eyju , eyjar ; eyjar , eyjar , eyjum , eyja . So also Frigg , H─Öl m├ªr (maid), mey , meyju , meyjar ; meyjar , meyjar , meyjum , meyja 65. SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. hei├░-r ( heath ) hei├░-ar Acc. hei├░-i hei├░-ar Dat. hei├░-i hei├░-um Gen. hei├░-ar hei├░-a (2) ir-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. t─½├░ t─½├░-ir Acc. t─½├░ t─½├░-ir Dat. t─½├░ t─½├░-um Gen. t─½├░-ar t─½├░-a 66. So also sorg (sorrow), skipun (arrangement), h╟½fn (harbour) pl. hafnir , and the majority of strong feminines. 67. Many have -u in the dat. sg.: s┼ìl (sun), s┼ìl , s┼ìlu , s┼ìlar ; s┼ìlir , s┼ìlir , s┼ìlum , s┼ìla . So also j╟½r├░ (earth), stund (period of time). 68. One noun has r in the nom. sg., following hei├░r in the sg.: br┼½├░r (bride), br┼½├░i , br┼½├░i , br┼½├░ar ; br┼½├░ir , br┼½├░ir , br┼½├░um , br┼½├░a (3) r-plurals SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. b┼ìk ( book ) b┼ôk-r Acc. b┼ìk b┼ôk-r Dat. b┼ìk b┼ìk-um Gen. b┼ìk-ar b┼ìk-a 69. So also n─ütt (night) pl. n├ªtr , b┼ìt (compensation) pl. b┼ôtr , t╟½nn (tooth) gen. tannar pl. t─Önnr 70. h╟½nd (hand) pl. h─Öndr has dat. sg. h─Öndi 71. k╚│r (cow) has acc. k┼½ , pl. k╚│r 72. br┼½n (eyebrow) assimilates the r of the pl.: br╚│nn SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. m┼ì├░ir ( mother ) m┼ô├░r Acc. m┼ì├░ur m┼ô├░r Dat. m┼ì├░ur m┼ô├░rum Gen. m┼ì├░ur m┼ô├░ra 73. So also d┼ìttir (daughter) pl. d┼ôtr ; systir (sister) pl. systr Weak Masculines SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. bog-i ( bow ) bog-ar Acc. bog-a bog-a Dat. bog-a bog-um Gen. bog-a bog-a 74. So also m─üni (moon), f─ôlagi (companion). 75. h╟½f├░ingi (chief) and some others insert j in inflection: h╟½f├░ingja , h╟½f├░ingjar , h╟½f├░ingjum 76. l─ô (scythe) is contracted; its gen. sg. is lj─ü 77. oxi (ox) has pl. ├╢xn 78. herra (lord) is indeclinable in the sg. Weak Neuters SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. hjart-a ( heart ) hj╟½rt-u Acc. hjart-a hj╟½rt-u Dat. hjart-a hj╟½rt-um Gen. hjart-a hjart-na 79. So also auga (eye). Weak Feminines SINGULAR PLURAL Nom. tung-a ( tongue ) tung-ur Acc. tung-u tung-ur Dat. tung-u tung-um Gen. tung-u tung-na 80. So also stjarna (star) pl. stj╟½rnur , kirkja (church), gen. plurals stjarna , kirkna Sg. Nom. ─Ölli ( old age ) Acc. ─Ölli Dat. ─Ölli Gen. ─Ölli 81. So also gl─Ö├░i (joy) and many abstract nouns. 82. lygi (falsehood) has pl. lygar ; so also g╟½╠êrsimi (precious thing). Adjectives 83. Adjectives have three genders, and the same cases as nouns, though with partly different endings, together with strong and weak forms. Strong Adjectives MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. ung-r ( young ) ung-t ung Acc. ung-an ung-t ung-a Dat. ung-um ung-u ung-ri Gen. ung-s ung-s ung-rar Pl. Nom. ung-ir ung ung-ar Acc. ung-a ung ung-ar Dat. ung-um ung-um ung-um Gen. ung-ra ung-ra ung-ra 84. So also fagr (fair), fem. f╟½gr , neut. fagrt 85. Some insert j before a and u : n╚│r (new), n╚│jum , n╚│jan 86. Some insert v before a vowel: h─ür (high), h─üvan , d├╢kkr (dark), d├╢kkvir , kykr (alive), kykvir 87. The t of the neut. is doubled after a long vowel: n╚│tt , h─ütt . Monosyllables in ├░ , dd , tt form their neut. in -tt : brei├░r (broad), breitt ; leiddr (led), leitt g┼ì├░r (good) has neut. gott sannr (true) has neut. satt . In unaccented syllables or if a cons. precedes, tt is shortened to t : kalla├░r (called), kallat ; blindr (blind), blint , har├░r (hard), hart , fastr (firm), fast 88. l and n assimilate a following r : gamall (old), fem. g╟½mul , fem. acc. gamla , dat. gamalli v╟únn (beautiful), gen. pl. v├ªnna MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. mikill ( great ) mikit mikil Acc. mikinn mikit mikla Dat. miklum miklu mikilli Gen. mikils mikils mikillar Pl. Nom. miklir mikil miklar Acc. mikla mikil miklar Dat. miklum miklum miklum Gen. mikilla mikilla mikilla 89. So also l─½till (little). 90. Dissyllables in -inn have -it in the neut., and -inn in the masc. sg. acc.: t─½ginn (distinguished), t─½git , t─½ginn , pl. t─½gn─½r . So also kominn (come). 91. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. annarr ( other ) annat ╟½nnur Acc. annan annat a├░ra Dat. ╟½├░rum ╟½├░ru annarri Gen. annars annars annarrar Pl. Nom. a├░rir ╟½nnur a├░rar Acc. a├░ra ╟½nnur a├░rar Dat. ╟½├░rum ╟½├░rum ╟½├░rum Gen. annarra annarra annarra Weak Adjectives MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. ung-i ung-a ung-a Acc. ung-a ung-a ung-u Dat. ung-a ung-a ung-u Gen. ung-a ung-a ung-u Pl. Nom. ung-u ung-u ung-u Acc. ung-u ung-u ung-u Dat. ung-u ung-u ung-u Gen. ung-u ung-u ung-u 92. So also fagri , h─üvi , mikli , etc. Sg. Nom. yngri ( younger ) yngra yngri Acc. yngra yngra yngri Dat. yngra yngra yngri Gen. yngra yngra yngri Pl. Nom. yngri yngri yngri Acc. yngri yngri yngri Dat. yngrum yngrum yngrum Gen. yngri yngri yngri 93. So also all comparatives, such as meiri (greater), and pres. partic. when used as adjectives, such as gefandi (giving), dat. pl. gef╟½ndum Comparison 94. (1) with -ari , -astr : r─½kr (powerful), r─½kari , r─½kastr ; g╟½fugr (distinguished), g╟½fgari , g╟½fgastr 95. (2) with -ri , -str and mutation: langr (long), l─Öngri , l─Öngstr ; st┼ìrr (big), st┼ôrri , st┼ôrstr ; ungr (young), yngri , yngstr 96. The following are irregular: gamall ( old ) ─Öllri ─Ölztr g┼ì├░r ( good ) b─Ötri b─Öztr illr ( bad ) v─Örri v─Örstr l─½till ( little ) minni minstr margr ( many ) fleiri flestr mikill ( great ) meiri mestr Numerals 97. CARDINAL ORDINAL 1. einn ( one ) fyrstr ( first ) 2. tveir annarr 3. ├╛r─½r ├╛ri├░i 4. fj┼ìrir fj┼ìr├░i 5. fimm fimmti 6. sex s─ôtti 7. sjau sjaundi 8. ─ütta ─ütti 9. n─½u n─½undi 10. t─½u t─½undi 11. ellifu ellifti 12. t┼ìlf t┼ìlfti 13. ├╛rett─ün ├╛rett─ündi 14. fj┼ìrt─ün 15. fimmt─ün 16. sext─ün 17. sjaut─ün 18. ─ütj─ün 19. n─½tj─ün 20. tuttugu 21. einn ok tuttugu, etc. 30. ├╛r─½r tigir, etc. 100. t─½u tigir 110. ellifu tigir 120. hundra├░ 1200. ├╛┼½sund einn is declined like other adjectives:— 98. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Nom. einn eitt ein Acc. einn eitt eina Dat. einum einu einni Gen. eins eins einnar It also has a pl. einir , einar , ein ; gen. einna , etc. in the sense of 'some.' The next three show various irregularities. 99. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Nom. tveir tvau tv├ªr Acc. tv─ü tvau tv├ªr Dat. tveim tveim tveim Gen. tv─Öggja tv─Öggja tv─Öggja Similarly b─ü├░ir (both): 100. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Nom. b─ü├░ir b├ª├░i b─ü├░ar Acc. b─ü├░a b├ª├░i b─ü├░ar Dat. b─ü├░um b─ü├░um b─ü├░um Gen. b─Öggja b─Öggja b─Öggja 101. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Nom. ├╛r─½r ├╛rj┼½ ├╛rj─ür Acc. ├╛rj─ü ├╛rj┼½ ├╛rj─ür Dat. ├╛rim ├╛rim ├╛rim Gen. ├╛riggja ├╛riggja ├╛riggja 102. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Nom. fj┼ìrir fjogur fj┼ìrar Acc. fj┼ìra fjogur fj┼ìrar Dat. fj┼ìrum fj┼ìrum fj┼ìrum Gen. fjogurra fjogurra fjogurra 103. The others are indeclinable up to ├╛r─½r tigir , etc.; the tigir being declined regularly as a plural strong u -masculine tigir , tigu , tigum , tiga 104. hundra├░ is a strong neut.: tvau hundru├░ (240), tveim hundru├░um , etc. It governs the gen. (as also does ├╛┼½sund ): fimm hundru├░ g┼ìlfa , 'five (six) hundred chambers.' 105. ├╛┼½sund is a strong ir -feminine: tv├ªr ├╛┼½sundir (2400). 106. hundra├░ and ├╛┼½sund are rarely = 100 and 1000. 107. Of the ordinals fyrstr and annarr (┬º 91) are strong, the others weak adjectives. ├╛ri├░i inserts a j : ├╛ri├░ja , etc. Pronouns 108. Personal Sg. Nom. ek ( I ) ├╛┼½ ( thou ) — Acc. mik ├╛ik sik ( oneself ) Dat. m─ôr ├╛─ôr s─ôr Gen. m─½n ├╛─½n s─½n Dual Nom. vit it — Acc. okkr ykkr sik Dat. okkr ykkr s─ôr Gen. okkar ykkar s─½n Pl. Nom. v─ôr ( we ) ├╛─ôr ( ye ) — Acc. oss y├░r sik ( oneselves ) Dat. oss y├░r s─ôr Gen. v─ür y├░ar s─½n MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. hann ( he ) ├╛at ( it ) hon ( she ) Acc. hann ├╛at hana Dat. honum ├╛v─½ h─Önni Gen. hans ├╛ess h─Önnar Pl. Nom. ├╛eir ( they ) ├╛au ├╛├ªr Acc. ├╛─ü ├╛au ├╛├ªr Dat. ├╛eim ├╛eim ├╛eim Gen. ├╛eira ├╛eira ├╛eira 109. ek was often suffixed to its verb, especially in poetry, being sometimes added twice over: m├ªtta- k (I might), s─ü-k-a-k (I saw not; a ='not'). So also ├╛┼½ : er-tu (art thou), skalt-u (shalt thou) = *skalt-tu Possessive MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. minn ( my ) mitt m─½n Acc. minn mitt m─½na Dat. m─½num m─½nu minni Gen. m─½ns m─½ns minnar Pl. Nom. m─½nir m─½n m─½nar Acc. m─½na m─½n m─½nar Dat. m─½num m─½num m─½num Gen. minna minna minna 110. So also ├╛inn (thy), sinn (his, etc., reflexive). 111. v─ürr , v─ürt , v─ür (our) is regular: acc. masc. v─ürn , masc. plur. v─ürir , v─üra , v─ürum , v─ürra , etc. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. y├░arr ( your ) y├░art y├░ur Acc. y├░arn y├░art y├░ra Dat. y├░rum y├░ru y├░arri Gen. y├░ars y├░ars y├░arrar Pl. Nom. y├░rir y├░ur y├░rar Acc. y├░ra y├░ur y├░rar Dat. y├░rum y├░rum y├░rum Gen. y├░arra y├░arra y├░arra 112. So also okkarr (our two) and ykkarr (your two). 113. hans (his), ├╛ess (its), h─Önnar (her), and ├╛eira (their) are indeclinable. Demonstrative 114. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. s─ü ( that ) ├╛at s┼½ Acc. ├╛ann ├╛at ├╛─ü Dat. ├╛eim ├╛v─½ ├╛eiri Gen. ├╛ess ├╛ess ├╛eirar Pl. Nom. ├╛eir ├╛au ├╛├ªr Acc. ├╛─ü ├╛au ├╛├ªr Dat. ├╛eim ├╛eim ├╛eim Gen. ├╛eira ├╛eira ├╛eira 115. hinn , hitt , hin (that) is inflected like minn (except that its vowel is short throughout): acc. masc. hinn , plur. masc. hinir , hina , hinum , hinna 116. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. ├╛essi ( this ) ├╛etta ├╛essi Acc. ├╛enna ├╛etta ├╛essa Dat. ├╛essum ├╛essu ├╛essi Gen. ├╛essa ├╛essa ├╛essar Pl. Nom. ├╛essir ├╛essi ├╛essar Acc. ├╛essa ├╛essi ├╛essar Dat. ├╛essum ├╛essum ├╛essum Gen. ├╛essa ├╛essa ├╛essa Definite The prefixed definite article is declined thus: 117. MASC. NEUT. FEM. Sg. Nom. inn it in Acc. inn it ina Dat. inum inu inni Gen. ins ins innar Pl. Nom. inir in inar Acc. ina in inar Dat. inum inum inum Gen. inna inna inna 118. When suffixed to its noun it undergoes various changes. In its monosyllabic forms it drops its vowel after a short (un-accented) vowel, as in auga-t (the eye), but keeps it after a long vowel, as in ─ü-in (the river), tr─ô-it (the tree). The dissyllabic forms drop their initial vowel almost everywhere; not, however, after the -ar , -r , of the gen. sg., nor in m─Önninir (men, nom. ), m─Önn-ina (men, acc. ).