Masculine Nouns in -i

Level 2

Masculine nouns that end in -i, like tími (time, class), have only two singular forms: -i in the nominative and -a everywhere else.

How It Works

The pattern
Forms in this order: Singular · Plural.

  • Nominative: tími · tímar
  • Accusative: tíma · tíma
  • Dative: tíma · tímum
  • Genitive: tíma · tíma

Because three singular cases share the form -a, the sentence tells you which case it is: Ég hef ekki tíma (accusative), með afa (dative), til afa (genitive).

With the article
tíminn, tímann, tímanum, tímans; plural tímarnir, tímana, tímunum, tímanna. Notice that the accusative singular is tímann with -ann, not -inn.

The vowel change before -um
A stem a turns into ö before -um: afi → öfum, hagi (pasture) → högum. See The A-to-Ö Change.

Nouns in -andi, like nemandi (student), also end in -i but follow their own plural. See Nouns in -andi (nemandi).

Examples (6)

  1. Tíminn byrjar klukkan níu.

    The class starts at nine.

    Word by Word: Class-the starts clock nine.

    tími is the subject, so it keeps -i before the article: tíminn.

  2. Ég hef ekki tíma í dag.

    I don't have time today.

    Word by Word: I have not time in day.

    tíma is the object, so -i changes to -a.

  3. Áttu penna sem ég má fá lánaðan?

    Do you have a pen I can borrow?

    Word by Word: Have-you pen that I may get lent?

    penna is the accusative of penni.

  4. Ég gleymdi símanum heima.

    I forgot my phone at home.

    Word by Word: I forgot phone-the at-home.

    gleyma takes the dative, and the article makes símanum.

  5. Við fórum í heimsókn til afa og ömmu.

    We went to visit Grandpa and Grandma.

    Word by Word: We went in visit to grandpa and grandma.

    til takes the genitive, and the genitive of afi is afa.

  6. Það eru þrír gluggar í stofunni.

    There are three windows in the living room.

    Word by Word: It are three windows in living-room-the.

    The plural of gluggi is gluggar, with -ar like hestar.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping -i when the noun is an object.

    Ég hef ekki tími.
    Ég hef ekki tíma.

    Only the nominative ends in -i. Every other singular case ends in -a.

  • Using the nominative after a preposition.

    Ég talaði við afi minn.
    Ég talaði við afa minn.

    við takes the accusative here, and the accusative of afi is afa. Every singular case except the nominative ends in -a.

  • Making the plural with -ir.

    Ég á tvo símir.
    Ég á tvo síma.

    These nouns take -ar in the plural: símar in the nominative and síma in the accusative.

How It Connects

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

Masculine Nouns in -iLevel 2

Learn This First

Weak masculine nouns come after hestur nouns.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-i-a