The Four Cases
Four cases: nominative (nefnifall), accusative (þolfall), dative (þágufall), genitive (eignarfall). hestur → hest → hesti → hests.
How It Works
One noun in four cases
- Nominative (nefnifall): hestur. The dictionary form, used for the subject. See The Nominative.
- Accusative (þolfall): hest. Most direct objects. See The Accusative.
- Dative (þágufall): hesti. After many prepositions and some verbs. See The Dative.
- Genitive (eignarfall): hests. After a few prepositions such as til, and for belonging. See The Genitive.
What chooses the case
- The word's job: the subject is nominative. Jón er heima.
- The verb: sjá (see) takes the accusative, hjálpa (help) takes the dative. Ég sé Jón. Ég hjálpa Jóni.
- The preposition: frá (from) takes the dative, til (to) the genitive. Ég kem frá Íslandi. Ég fer til Jóns.
More than nouns change
Pronouns have cases too: ég, mig, mér, mín. See Object Pronouns (Accusative) and Dative Pronouns. Adjectives and the article change case with the noun: góður hestur, góðan hest, góðum hesti, góðs hests.
Start small
Not every noun changes in all four cases. kona is kona, konu, konu, konu, and hús is hús, hús, húsi, húss. When you learn a verb or preposition, learn its case with it: frá + dative, til + genitive.
Examples (5)
- Þetta er hestur.
This is a horse.
Word by Word: This is horse.
hestur is in the nominative after er (is).
- Ég sé hest.
I see a horse.
Word by Word: I see horse.
sjá takes the accusative, so hestur becomes hest.
- Ég hjálpa Jóni.
I am helping Jón.
Word by Word: I help Jón.
hjálpa takes the dative, so Jón becomes Jóni.
- Ég fer til Jóns.
I am going to Jón's place.
Word by Word: I go to Jón's.
til always takes the genitive, so Jón becomes Jóns.
- Ég kem frá Íslandi.
I come from Iceland.
Word by Word: I come from Iceland.
frá always takes the dative, so Ísland becomes Íslandi.
Common Mistakes
Keeping the dictionary form after a preposition.
Ég kem frá Ísland.Ég kem frá Íslandi.frá always takes the dative. Ísland in the dative is Íslandi.
Using the nominative for a direct object.
Ég sé hestur.Ég sé hest.The thing you see is the object of sjá, so it is in the accusative: hest.
Forgetting the genitive after til.
Ég fer til Jón.Ég fer til Jóns.til always takes the genitive. Jón in the genitive is Jóns.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The four cases build on noun gender.
Related Patterns
- The Nominative (nefnifall)
The nominative is the dictionary form and the case of the subject.
Level 2 - The Accusative (þolfall)
The accusative is the case of most direct objects.
Level 2 - The Dative (þágufall)
The dative follows many prepositions and some verbs.
Level 2 - The Genitive (eignarfall)
The genitive follows til and a few other prepositions and verbs.
Level 2 - mig / þig / hann / hanaObject Pronouns (Accusative)
Pronouns change with case too: ég becomes mig as an object.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice The Four Cases in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Icelandic lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
