Groups of Regular Verbs
kalla → kallaði, dæma → dæmdi, telja → taldi: regular verbs form the past in a few set ways.
How It Works
Group 1: -aði. This is the largest group. Present ég kalla, hann kallar; past kallaði; supine kallað. Others: tala, borða, dansa, opna. In the past plural the ending has u instead of a, and an a in the stem becomes ö: við borðuðum, við kölluðum (see past tense -aði).
Group 2: -ði, -di or -ti. The present has -i: ég dæmi, hann dæmir. The past ending depends on the last sound of the stem (see past tense -ði/-di/-ti):
- -ði after r and some other sounds: heyra → heyrði, læra → lærði, keyra → keyrði
- -di after l, m or n: dæma → dæmdi, gleyma → gleymdi, reyna → reyndi
- -ti after p, t, k or s: mæta → mætti, kyssa → kyssti
Some stems that already end in d or t just add -i: senda → sendi, hitta → hitti. The supine ends in -t: dæmt, heyrt, sent, hitt.
Group 3: vowel change. Verbs like telja have a short present, ég tel, and a new vowel in the past: taldi, supine talið. Others: velja → valdi, spyrja → spurði. See regular verbs with a vowel change.
A small extra group. vaka (stay awake), þola (bear) and lifa (live) have -i in the present (ég vaki) and a -ði/-di/-ti past (vakti, þoldi, lifði), but their supine ends in -að: ég hef lifað.
Knowing the group gives you the principal parts and the supine.
Examples (6)
- Við borðuðum á veitingastað í gær.
We ate at a restaurant yesterday.
Word by Word: We ate on restaurant in yesterday.
borða is an -aði verb; in the plural past the ending has u instead of a: borðuðum.
- Hún lærði íslensku í tvö ár.
She studied Icelandic for two years.
Word by Word: She learned Icelandic in two years.
- Ég gleymdi lyklunum heima.
I forgot my keys at home.
Word by Word: I forgot the keys at-home.
gleyma has -i in the present (ég gleymi) and -di in the past.
- Hann keyrði norður um helgina.
He drove north at the weekend.
Word by Word: He drove north about the weekend.
- Barnið taldi upp að tíu.
The child counted to ten.
Word by Word: The child counted up to ten.
telja changes its vowel: taldi.
- Ég hitti hana á kaffihúsi í gær.
I met her at a café yesterday.
Word by Word: I met her on café in yesterday.
Common Mistakes
Giving an -i verb the -aði ending.
Ég gleymaði lyklunum heima.Ég gleymdi lyklunum heima.gleyma has -i in the present (ég gleymi), so its past is -di: gleymdi.
Giving a vowel-change verb the -aði ending.
Hann teljaði stólana.Hann taldi stólana.telja changes its vowel in the past and takes -di: taldi.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Regular verb groups build on the -ði past and principal parts.
Related Patterns
- Past Tense in -aði
The largest group of regular verbs.
Level 2 - Regular Verbs With a Vowel Change
The regular verbs that also change their vowel: telja → taldi.
Level 3 - Present Tense: i-Verbs (læra)
The -i present (ég læri) that marks the -ði/-di/-ti group.
Level 1 - The Supine (sagnbót)
The supine ends in -að, -t or -ið depending on the group.
Level 2
Practice Groups of Regular Verbs in Bubblegum
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