Change-of-State Verbs in -na

Level 4

Ég vaknaði klukkan sjö. (I woke up at seven.) A verb in -na says that something changes on its own.

How It Works

Common -na verbs.

  • vakna (wake up), from vaka (be awake)
  • sofna (fall asleep), from sofa (sleep)
  • kólna (get cold), from kaldur (cold)
  • hitna (get warm), from heitur (hot)
  • þorna (get dry), from þurr (dry)
  • blotna (get wet), from blautur (wet)
  • roðna (blush, turn red), from rauður (red)
  • batna (get better)

Forms. These are regular verbs like tala, with the past in -aði: ég vakna, hún vaknar, við vöknum; past ég vaknaði, við vöknuðum; supine vaknað. Watch the a-to-ö change before an ending with u: vöknum, vöknuðum.

No object. A -na verb says what happens to the subject. When someone causes the change, use the partner verb with an object:

  • Barnið vaknaði. (The child woke up.) Ég vakti barnið. (I woke the child.)
  • Glasið brotnaði. (The glass broke.) Hann braut glasið. (He broke the glass.)
  • Ljósið slokknaði. (The light went out.) Hún slökkti ljósið. (She turned off the light.)
  • Fötin þorna úti. (The clothes are drying outside.) Ég þurrka fötin. (I dry the clothes.)

Weather and health. With the weather, það fills first place: Það kólnar í kvöld. (It will get cold tonight.) When a person gets better, the person is usually in the dative, as in mér er kalt: Mér batnaði fljótt. (I got better quickly.) Vonandi er þér batnað. (I hope you are better.) A thing that improves stays in the nominative: Veðrið batnaði. (The weather got better.)

Examples (6)

  1. Ég vaknaði klukkan sjö.

    I woke up at seven.

    Word by Word: I woke-up clock seven.

  2. Barnið sofnaði strax.

    The child fell asleep right away.

    Word by Word: The child fell-asleep immediately.

  3. Það kólnar í kvöld.

    It will get cold tonight.

    Word by Word: It cools in evening.

    With the weather, það fills first place.

  4. Glasið datt og brotnaði.

    The glass fell and broke.

    Word by Word: The glass fell and broke.

    brotna has no object. To break something, use brjóta: Hann braut glasið.

  5. Mér batnaði fljótt.

    I got better quickly.

    Word by Word: To-me improved quickly.

    With batna, the person who gets better is usually in the dative.

  6. Hún roðnaði þegar hann brosti til hennar.

    She blushed when he smiled at her.

    Word by Word: She reddened when he smiled to her.

Common Mistakes

  • Giving vakna an object.

    Ég vaknaði barnið klukkan sjö.
    Ég vakti barnið klukkan sjö.

    vakna means wake up by yourself and takes no object. To wake someone else, use vekja: ég vek, ég vakti.

  • Using the object verb when nothing has an object.

    Glasið braut á gólfinu.
    Glasið brotnaði á gólfinu.

    brjóta needs an object: Hann braut glasið. When the glass breaks without a named doer, use brotna.

  • Forgetting the a-to-ö change.

    Við vaknuðum snemma.
    Við vöknuðum snemma.

    Before an ending with u, the a in the stem becomes ö: við vöknum, við vöknuðum.

How It Connects

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

Change-of-State Verbs in -naLevel 4

Learn This First

-na verbs build on the -aði past and verða.

Words in This Pattern

vaknasofnabatnahitnakólna