Sagnorðin

Sagnorðin (verbal class) are the words in Icelandic that express actions, processes or states. They constitute the verbal core of sentences and are inflected for person, number, tense, mood and voice. Finite verb forms agree with the subject in person and number, and the infinitive form is called nafnháttur.

Icelandic sagnorð are commonly described as belonging to different conjugation groups, notably strong and weak verbs, with irregular verbs dispersed among them. Weak verbs form past tenses with suffixes and often minor stem changes, while strong verbs mainly change the stem vowel to form the past tense. Irregular verbs do not fit neatly into these patterns.

In addition to finite forms, sagnorð have non-finite forms used in various constructions. The present active participle ends in -andi (for example, lesandi “reading”), and there is a past participle used in perfect and passive constructions. The past participle combines with auxiliary verbs to form compound tenses, such as the present perfect (ég hef lesið) and the pluperfect. Passive voice is typically formed with the past participle together with a form of vera, as in the passive constructions bókin er lesin.

The infinitive (nafnháttur) is the basic non-finite form and is used with að for subordinate clauses or after certain auxiliaries and modal verbs. Icelandic sagnorð also appear in imperative and subjunctive moods, expanding the range of expresses actions, requests, and hypothetical states.

Sagnorð are central to Icelandic syntax, governing sentence structure and word order. They exhibit a range of irregularities and dialectal variation, but their core functions—denoting action or state and forming tenses and voices—remain consistent across standard Icelandic usage.