Beygingarreglum

Beygingarreglum are the rules that govern inflection in Icelandic grammar. They describe how words change form to express grammatical relations and properties such as case, number, gender, and definiteness, and how they agree with other words in a sentence. The system covers nouns, adjectives, pronouns, numerals, and verbs, and underpins both written and spoken Icelandic.

Nouns inflect for gender (masculine, feminine, neuter), number (singular, plural), and case (nominative, accusative, dative, genitive). There are distinct declension patterns, including strong and weak noun endings, which interact with definiteness and plural formation. Adjectives decline to agree with the noun they describe, taking endings that reflect the noun’s gender, number, and whether the noun is definite. This agreement can follow strong or weak declensions, depending on the presence of a definite article or suffix.

Verbs are conjugated for person and number in finite forms and for tense, mood, voice, and aspect in non-finite forms. The verb system includes present and past tenses as core forms, with auxiliary constructions used for perfect, future, and other aspects. Some verbs are irregular and must be learned individually, while others follow regular patterns that align with the noun and adjective inflection.

Pronouns and numerals have their own inflection patterns and interact with the noun and adjective forms. Beygingarreglum thus reflect both the historical development of Icelandic and its contemporary usage, with variation across dialects and registers.