Verbs With a Genitive Object

Level 4

Ég sakna þín (I miss you) uses the genitive þín, not the accusative þig. The case comes from the verb.

How It Works

The everyday ones.

  • sakna (miss): Ég sakna þín. Ég sakna Íslands. Hvers saknarðu mest? (What do you miss most?)
  • njóta (enjoy): Njóttu dagsins! Við nutum útsýnisins. (We enjoyed the view.)
  • óska (wish) + dative person + genitive thing: Ég óska þér góðrar ferðar. Við óskum ykkur gleðilegra jóla. (We wish you a merry Christmas.)
  • gæta (look after, watch): Hún gætir barnanna. Gættu þín! (Watch out! Be careful!)
  • þarfnast (need): Bíllinn þarfnast viðgerðar. (The car needs repairs.)

Genitive forms to know. The pronouns are mín, þín, hans, hennar, þess, okkar, ykkar, þeirra, and the question word is hvers. Nouns use their genitive forms: dagurinn → dagsins, ferð → ferðar, börnin → barnanna.

Greetings on their own. Góða ferð! (Have a good trip!) and Gleðileg jól! (Merry Christmas!) are correct on their own. You need the genitive only after óska: Ég óska þér góðrar ferðar.

Formal and everyday choices. Some genitive verbs belong to careful or formal style, and everyday speech often uses another verb or a preposition: Ég þarf hjálp for Ég þarfnast hjálpar, and bíða eftir svari for bíða svars (see genitive objects in formal style). In reading you will also meet krefjast (demand), vænta (expect) and minnast (remember, commemorate). sakna and njóta keep the genitive in everyday speech too.

Examples (6)

  1. Ég sakna þín.

    I miss you.

    þín is the genitive of þú.

  2. Njóttu dagsins!

    Enjoy the day!

    Word by Word: Enjoy-you the day’s!

  3. Ég óska þér góðrar ferðar.

    I wish you a good trip.

    þér is dative (the person), and góðrar ferðar is genitive (the wish).

  4. Hún gætir barnanna á meðan við erum úti.

    She looks after the children while we are out.

  5. Hvers saknarðu mest að heiman?

    What do you miss most from home?

    Word by Word: Of-what miss-you most from home?

  6. Bíllinn þarfnast viðgerðar.

    The car needs repairs.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the accusative after sakna.

    Ég sakna þig.
    Ég sakna þín.

    sakna takes the genitive: sakna þín, sakna hennar, sakna Íslands.

  • Using the accusative after njóta.

    Njóttu daginn!
    Njóttu dagsins!

    njóta takes the genitive, so dagurinn becomes dagsins.

  • Keeping the greeting form after óska.

    Ég óska þér góða ferð.
    Ég óska þér góðrar ferðar.

    Góða ferð! is right on its own, but after óska the wish goes in the genitive: góðrar ferðar.

How It Connects

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

Verbs With a Genitive ObjectLevel 4

Learn This First

Genitive verbs build on the genitive and dative verbs.

Words in This Pattern

saknanjótaóskagætaþarfnast