Formal Relative er

Level 6

Maðurinn er kom í gær var frændi minn. (The man who came yesterday was my cousin.) Sá er þetta ritar … (The one who writes this …)

How It Works

er in place of sem. In everyday Icelandic, relative clauses start with sem. Formal writing, church language and the sagas often use er instead:

  • Maðurinn er kom í gær var frændi minn. (The man who came yesterday was my cousin.)
  • Þeir er vilja taka þátt skulu skrá sig fyrir föstudag. (Those who wish to take part shall register before Friday.)

It works just like sem. It never changes for case, gender or number, and a preposition stays at the end of the clause, as in preposition stranding: Húsið er hann bjó í stendur enn. (The house he lived in still stands.)

Fixed phrases. sá er (the one who) matches modern sá sem. Writers use sá er þetta ritar (the one writing this) to mean I, the author.

er meaning when. In sagas and old texts, er can also mean when, like modern þegar: Það var um vorið er þeir riðu til þings. (It was in the spring when they rode to the Althing.)

How to tell it from is. Ask one question: does the clause already have another verb? In Maðurinn er kom í gær, the verb is kom, so er means who. In Maðurinn er hér, there is no other verb, so er means is. This skill matters when reading the sagas.

When to use it. Read it everywhere, but write it only in a formal style. In speech, sem is the normal word.

Examples (5)

  1. Maðurinn er kom í gær var frændi minn.

    The man who came yesterday was my cousin.

    Word by Word: The-man who came yesterday was cousin mine.

    The clause has its own verb, kom, so er means who.

  2. Sá er þetta ritar hefur búið á Akureyri í tuttugu ár.

    The writer of these lines has lived in Akureyri for twenty years.

    Word by Word: That-one who this writes has lived in Akureyri for twenty years.

    sá er þetta ritar is a formal way for an author to refer to themselves.

  3. Þeir er vilja taka þátt skulu skrá sig fyrir föstudag.

    Those who wish to take part shall register before Friday.

    Word by Word: They who want to take part shall register themselves before Friday.

  4. Húsið er hann bjó í stendur enn.

    The house he lived in still stands.

    Word by Word: The-house which he lived in stands still.

    As with sem, the preposition í stays at the end of the clause.

  5. Það var um vorið er þeir riðu til þings.

    It was in the spring when they rode to the Althing.

    Word by Word: It was about the-spring when they rode to assembly.

    In old stories er can mean when.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the preposition in front of er.

    Húsið í er hann bjó stendur enn.
    Húsið er hann bjó í stendur enn.

    Like sem, er cannot follow a preposition. The preposition goes to the end of the clause.

  • Using er and sem together.

    Sá er sem þetta ritar hefur búið hér lengi.
    Sá er þetta ritar hefur búið hér lengi.

    er already does the job of sem. Use one or the other, not both.

How It Connects

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

Formal Relative erLevel 6

Learn This First

Relative er builds on sem and registers.

Words in This Pattern

sem