Past Tense in -ði, -di and -ti

Level 2

Verbs like læra form the past with -ði, -di or -ti: Ég lærði íslensku (I studied Icelandic).

How It Works

Which verbs. These are regular verbs with -i in the present: ég læri, ég kenni, ég kaupi (present tense i-verbs).

Choosing ð, d or t. Look at the sound just before the ending. This works for most verbs:

  • a vowel, r, f or g → -ði: læra → lærði, heyra → heyrði, keyra → keyrði, gera → gerði
  • l, m or n → -di: kenna → kenndi, reyna → reyndi, sýna → sýndi, gleyma → gleymdi
  • p, t, k or s → -ti: kaupa → keypti, hitta → hitti, mæta → mætti, kyssa → kyssti

The endings. Using læra:

  • ég lærði, þú lærðir, hann / hún / það lærði
  • við lærðum, þið lærðuð, þeir / þær / þau lærðu

Watch out.

  • Some verbs also change their vowel: kaupa → keypti, segja → sagði. See vowel-change weak verbs.
  • Verbs with tt, such as hitta, share some forms between the present and the past: ég hitti can mean "I meet" or "I met". A time word such as í gær makes it clear.

The supine. These verbs have the supine in -t: lært, heyrt, kennt, reynt, keypt, hitt.

Verbs like tala (þú talar) take -aði instead. To be sure of a verb's past, learn its principal parts.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég lærði íslensku í tvö ár.

    I studied Icelandic for two years.

    Word by Word: I learned Icelandic in two years.

  2. Hún keyrði til Akureyrar.

    She drove to Akureyri.

    Word by Word: She drove to Akureyri.

  3. Við keyptum nýjan sófa.

    We bought a new sofa.

    Word by Word: We bought new sofa.

    kaupa → keypti: the vowel changes and the ending is -ti.

  4. Hver kenndi þér að synda?

    Who taught you to swim?

    Word by Word: Who taught you to swim?

    kenna → kenndi, with -di after n.

  5. Ég hitti Jón í bænum í gær.

    I met Jón in town yesterday.

    Word by Word: I met Jón in the-town yesterday.

    hitti is also the present form. í gær shows it is past.

  6. Heyrðirðu þetta?

    Did you hear that?

    Word by Word: Heard-you this?

    heyrðirðu is heyrðir þú joined together.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting the vowel change in kaupa.

    Ég kaupti mjólk.
    Ég keypti mjólk.

    kaupa changes au to ey in the past: keypti.

  • Choosing ð after n.

    Ég reynði að hringja.
    Ég reyndi að hringja.

    After l, m or n the ending has d, not ð: reyndi.

  • Using -aði endings on an i-verb.

    Við læruðum saman.
    Við lærðum saman.

    læra belongs to the -ði group. Its plural past is lærðum.

How It Connects

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

Past Tense in -ði, -di and -tiLevel 2

Learn This First

The -ði/-di/-ti past builds on i-verbs and the -aði past.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.