segjast / þykjast
Saying or Pretending About Oneself (Hún Sagðist Vera Veik)
Hún sagðist vera veik. (She said she was ill.) The -st form shows that she said it about herself.
How It Works
segjast: say about oneself.
- Hún sagðist vera veik. (She said she was ill.)
- Hann sagðist hafa séð hana. (He said he had seen her.) For something earlier, use hafa + supine.
- Þau sögðust ætla að koma. (They said they were going to come.)
þykjast: claim or pretend. Hann þóttist ekki heyra. (He pretended not to hear.) Hún þykist vita allt. (She thinks she knows everything.)
látast: pretend. Hann lést vera sofandi. (He pretended to be asleep.) Careful: látast also means "to die", and hann lést usually means "he died". The infinitive after it shows the meaning "pretend".
Forms. Present segist, segjast; past sagðist, sögðust. Present þykist; past þóttist, þóttust. Past lést, létust. See -st verbs.
Only about oneself. If the claim is about someone else, use reported speech with að and the subjunctive: Hún sagði að hann væri veikur. That pattern also works about oneself: Hún sagði að hún væri veik.
Examples (6)
- Hún sagðist vera veik.
She said she was ill.
Word by Word: She said-herself be ill.
- Hann sagðist hafa séð hana í bænum.
He said he had seen her in town.
Word by Word: He said-himself have seen her in the-town.
- Hann þóttist ekki heyra í mér.
He pretended not to hear me.
Word by Word: He seemed-himself not hear in me.
- Hún þykist vita allt.
She thinks she knows everything.
Word by Word: She seems-herself know all.
- Þau sögðust ætla að koma seinna.
They said they were going to come later.
Word by Word: They said-themselves intend to come later.
- Hann lést vera sofandi.
He pretended to be asleep.
Word by Word: He let-himself be sleeping.
With an infinitive, látast means pretend, not die.
Common Mistakes
Adding að before the infinitive.
Hún sagðist að vera veik.Hún sagðist vera veik.segjast, þykjast and látast take the infinitive without að.
Not making the adjective agree with the subject.
Hún sagðist vera veikur.Hún sagðist vera veik.The adjective describes the subject, so it is feminine: veik.
Using the past tense after hafa.
Hann sagðist hafa sá hana.Hann sagðist hafa séð hana.After hafa, use the supine séð.
How It Connects
Learn This First
segjast builds on -st verbs and object plus infinitive.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice segjast / þykjast in Bubblegum
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