hljóta að
Must Be (Hljóta Að)
Hún hlýtur að vera þreytt. (She must be tired.) You are drawing a conclusion.
How It Works
Forms. hljóta is a strong verb with a vowel change in the present singular: ég hlýt, þú hlýtur, hún hlýtur, við hljótum, þið hljótið, þau hljóta. Past: hlaut, hlutum. Supine: hlotið.
About now. Þú hlýtur að vera Anna. (You must be Anna.) Það hlýtur að vera gaman að búa á Íslandi. (It must be fun to live in Iceland.)
About the past. Put hafa and the supine after hljóta að: Hann hlýtur að hafa gleymt því. (He must have forgotten it.) Hún hlýtur að hafa farið snemma. (She must have left early.)
Can't be. For a firm negative conclusion, use geta + ekki: Það getur ekki verið! (That can't be!)
Less sure. For a weaker guess, use líklega: Hún er líklega þreytt. (She's probably tired.)
Another meaning. In formal style, hljóta without að means receive or win: Halldór Laxness hlaut Nóbelsverðlaunin árið 1955.
Examples (6)
- Hún hlýtur að vera þreytt.
She must be tired.
Word by Word: She must to be tired.
- Þetta hlýtur að vera rangt.
This must be wrong.
Word by Word: This must to be wrong.
- Þú hlýtur að vera Anna.
You must be Anna.
Word by Word: You must to be Anna.
- Hann hlýtur að vera heima, bíllinn hans er úti.
He must be home. His car is outside.
Word by Word: He must to be at-home, the car his is outside.
- Hann hlýtur að hafa gleymt því.
He must have forgotten it.
Word by Word: He must to have forgotten it.
For a conclusion about the past, use hafa + supine after hljóta að.
- Halldór Laxness hlaut Nóbelsverðlaunin árið 1955.
Halldór Laxness won the Nobel Prize in 1955.
Word by Word: Halldór Laxness received the Nobel-prize the year 1955.
Without að, hljóta means receive or win. This use is formal.
Common Mistakes
Using verða að for a conclusion.
Hann verður að vera heima, bíllinn hans er úti.Hann hlýtur að vera heima, bíllinn hans er úti.verða að is for rules and needs, so the first sentence says he is required to be home. A conclusion drawn from the car outside needs hljóta að.
Leaving out að.
Hún hlýtur vera þreytt.Hún hlýtur að vera þreytt.hljóta needs að before the infinitive in this meaning.
Putting a past tense verb after hljóta að.
Hann hlýtur að gleymdi því.Hann hlýtur að hafa gleymt því.After að the verb is an infinitive. For the past, use hafa + the supine.
How It Connects
Learn This First
hljóta að builds on verða að.
Related Patterns
- þurfa aðNeed to (Þurfa Að)
þurfa að says what someone needs to do.
Level 2 - kannski / líklegaMaybe and Probably
Softer guesses: maybe and probably.
Level 4 - mun hafa / á að veraReported and Probable (Mun, Á Að)
Other ways to say what is probable or reported.
Level 5 - hafa + SupineThe Perfect (Hef Talað)
hafa + supine after hljóta að moves the conclusion into the past.
Level 2 - Present Tense With a Vowel Change
hljóta changes its vowel in the present singular: hlýt, hlýtur.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice hljóta að in Bubblegum
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