Relative Clauses With sem
sem links a noun to a clause about it: bókin sem ég keypti (the book that I bought). It never changes form.
How It Works
One word for who, which and that. sem never changes form, whatever the gender, number or case of the noun:
- Maðurinn sem býr hér er kennari. (The man who lives here is a teacher.)
- Bókin sem ég keypti er mjög góð. (The book that I bought is very good.)
- Börnin sem búa hér tala íslensku. (The children who live here speak Icelandic.)
sem is never left out. English can drop that: the book I bought. Icelandic always needs sem: bókin sem ég keypti.
Prepositions go to the end. Icelandic does not put a preposition in front of sem. The preposition stays where it would be in a normal sentence, at the end of the clause:
- Ég talaði við stelpuna → stelpan sem ég talaði við (the girl I talked to)
- Ég bý í húsinu → húsið sem ég bý í (the house I live in)
See prepositions at the end for the same pattern in questions.
No extra pronoun. The clause has a gap where the noun would be. Do not fill it with a pronoun: say bókin sem ég keypti, not bókin sem ég keypti hana.
Word order inside. A sem-clause is a subordinate clause, so ekki comes after the verb: maður sem talar ekki íslensku (word order in subordinate clauses). For the one who and what, see sá sem / það sem. Formal writing sometimes uses er instead of sem (relative er).
Examples (6)
- Maðurinn sem býr hér er kennari.
The man who lives here is a teacher.
Word by Word: The man who lives here is teacher.
- Bókin sem ég keypti er mjög góð.
The book that I bought is very good.
- Stelpan sem ég talaði við heitir Anna.
The girl I talked to is called Anna.
Word by Word: The girl that I talked with is-called Anna.
The preposition við stays at the end of the clause.
- Þetta er húsið sem ég bý í.
This is the house I live in.
Word by Word: This is the house that I live in.
- Konan sem við hittum í gær er frá Akureyri.
The woman we met yesterday is from Akureyri.
- Ég á vin sem talar sjö tungumál.
I have a friend who speaks seven languages.
Word by Word: I own friend who speaks seven languages.
Common Mistakes
Putting the preposition in front of sem, as in formal English "to whom".
Stelpan við sem ég talaði heitir Anna.Stelpan sem ég talaði við heitir Anna.Icelandic never puts a preposition before sem. Leave it at the end of the clause.
Leaving out sem, as English can leave out "that".
Bókin ég keypti er góð.Bókin sem ég keypti er góð.sem cannot be dropped. Every relative clause starts with it.
Using the question word hver as "who" in a relative clause.
Konan hver býr hér er læknir.Konan sem býr hér er læknir.hver asks questions. For "who" after a noun, use sem.
How It Connects
Learn This First
sem builds on subordinate word order.
Related Patterns
- Prepositions at the End
The same end position for prepositions, also in questions.
Level 3 - sá sem / það semThe One Who and What (Sá Sem, Það Sem)
Builds "the one who" and "what" with sem.
Level 3 - hverWho (Hver)
The question word for who, which is not used in relative clauses.
Level 1 - Formal Relative er
A formal word that can replace sem.
Level 6 - þar semWhere and Since (Þar Sem)
The relative phrase for "where".
Level 4
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice Relative Clauses With sem in Bubblegum
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