um

About and Around (Um)

Level 2

um + accusative means about: bók um Ísland (a book about Iceland). It also means around and over a time: um helgina.

How It Works

Always the accusative. Unlike í and á, um never changes case: um Ísland, um mig, um bæinn. It belongs to the accusative prepositions.

1. About a topic.

  • bók um Ísland (a book about Iceland)
  • Hún talar oft um vinnuna sína. (She often talks about her work.)

2. Around or through a place. Við löbbuðum um bæinn (We walked around town). For going all the way round something, Icelandic uses í kringum: í kringum húsið.

3. Time. um + a time word, usually with the article, gives when something happens:

  • um helgina (at the weekend, this weekend)
  • um jólin (at Christmas)
  • um kvöldið (in the evening)

4. About, roughly. With a clock time or a number, um means around: um klukkan tvö (around two o'clock), um tíu manns (about ten people). See telling the time.

Verbs with um. Many verbs need um: tala um (talk about), hugsa um (think about, look after), biðja um (ask for), spyrja um (ask about), sækja um (apply for). See verbs with fixed prepositions. In a question, um can go to the end: Hvað ertu að tala um? (What are you talking about?)

Examples (6)

  1. Ég er að lesa bók um Ísland.

    I'm reading a book about Iceland.

    Word by Word: I am to read book about Iceland.

  2. Hvað ertu að gera um helgina?

    What are you doing this weekend?

    Word by Word: What are-you to do about the weekend?

  3. Við hittumst um klukkan tvö.

    We'll meet around two o'clock.

    Word by Word: We meet around the clock two.

  4. Við löbbuðum um bæinn.

    We walked around town.

    Word by Word: We walked around the town.

  5. Hún talar oft um vinnuna sína.

    She often talks about her work.

    Word by Word: She talks often about the work her-own.

  6. Ég ætla að sækja um starfið.

    I'm going to apply for the job.

    Word by Word: I intend to seek about the job.

    sækja um means to apply for.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the dative after um.

    Þetta er bók um Íslandi.
    Þetta er bók um Ísland.

    um always takes the accusative. Íslandi is the dative form; the accusative is Ísland.

  • Using a dative pronoun after um.

    Hún spurði um mér.
    Hún spurði um mig.

    After um the pronoun must be accusative: mig, þig, hann, hana.

  • Using á for "think of/about", as in Danish or Swedish.

    Ég hugsa oft á þig.
    Ég hugsa oft um þig.

    In Icelandic you think about someone with hugsa um.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

umLevel 2About and Around (Um)

Learn This First

um builds on the accusative.

Words in This Pattern

umhugsabiðja