Names Change Form

Level 2

Names are nouns, so they change form with the case: Ég hitti Önnu (I met Anna), bíll Jóns (Jón's car).

How It Works

Common names
Forms in this order: Jón · Sigurður · Helgi · Anna · Guðrún · Kristín.

  • Nominative: Jón · Sigurður · Helgi · Anna · Guðrún · Kristín
  • Accusative: Jón · Sigurð · Helga · Önnu · Guðrúnu · Kristínu
  • Dative: Jóni · Sigurði · Helga · Önnu · Guðrúnu · Kristínu
  • Genitive: Jóns · Sigurðar · Helga · Önnu · Guðrúnar · Kristínar

Patterns to recognize

  • Men's names in -ur drop it outside the nominative, like hestur: Ólafur → Ólaf, Ólafi, Ólafs. Some have a genitive in -ar: Sigurðar.
  • Men's names in -i work like tími: Helgi → Helga.
  • Women's names in -a work like saga, with the a-to-ö change: Anna → Önnu, Harpa → Hörpu.
  • Women's names like Guðrún and Kristín add -u, and -ar in the genitive.

Last names decline too
Patronymics are nouns built with son and dóttir, so they decline like those words: Jónsdóttir → Jónsdóttur; Jónsson → Jónssyni (dative), Jónssonar (genitive). See Names and Patronymics.

Saying whose
Put the genitive after the noun: bíll Jóns. In everyday speech, people usually add the article and a pronoun: bíllinn hans Jóns. bíll Jóns is more common in writing. Foreign names often keep one form, though many take -s in the genitive.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég hitti Önnu í gær.

    I met Anna yesterday.

    Word by Word: I met Anna in yesterday.

    Anna is the object, so it becomes Önnu.

  2. Þetta er bíll Jóns.

    This is Jón's car.

    Word by Word: This is car Jón's.

    The genitive Jóns shows who owns the car. In speech, people usually say bíllinn hans Jóns.

  3. Ég gaf Guðrúnu bók í afmælisgjöf.

    I gave Guðrún a book for her birthday.

    Word by Word: I gave Guðrún book in birthday-gift.

    Guðrún receives the book, so she is in the dative: Guðrúnu.

  4. Hefurðu talað við Sigurð?

    Have you talked to Sigurður?

    Word by Word: Have-you talked with Sigurður?

    við takes the accusative here: Sigurður → Sigurð.

  5. Við fórum heim til Kristínar eftir vinnu.

    We went to Kristín's place after work.

    Word by Word: We went home to Kristín's after work.

    til takes the genitive: Kristínar.

  6. Ég fékk bréf frá Helga.

    I got a letter from Helgi.

    Word by Word: I got letter from Helgi.

    frá takes the dative, and the dative of Helgi is Helga.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving a name in the nominative when it is an object.

    Ég hitti Anna í gær.
    Ég hitti Önnu í gær.

    Names change with the case. The accusative of Anna is Önnu.

  • Leaving out the genitive ending after til.

    Við fórum heim til Kristín.
    Við fórum heim til Kristínar.

    til always takes the genitive, and the genitive of Kristín is Kristínar.

  • Keeping -ur on a man's name after a preposition.

    Hefurðu talað við Sigurður?
    Hefurðu talað við Sigurð?

    -ur only belongs to the nominative. After við, use the accusative Sigurð.

How It Connects

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

Names Change FormLevel 2

Learn This First

Names decline like nouns.