beygingar

Beygingar, or inflection, is a central aspect of Icelandic grammar. It describes how words change form to express grammatical categories such as case, number, gender, tense, mood, and definiteness. The system applies to nouns, verbs, adjectives, and pronouns and shapes how meaning and syntax are conveyed.

Beyging nafnorða marks four cases—nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive—across singular and plural, and three genders: masculine, feminine, and neuter. The form also reflects whether a noun is definite or indefinite and its declension class (strong or weak). These patterns govern agreement with adjectives and determiners and define noun phrases.

Beyging sagnorða shows person and number in the present and past tenses and forms other tenses with auxiliary verbs. Verbs have moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative) and non-finite forms such as infinitives and participles. Many verbs are irregular, requiring unique inflectional forms.

Beyging lýsingarorða requires adjectives to agree with their noun in gender, number, and case, and with definiteness. Adjectives have strong and weak declensions, changing endings to reflect the noun’s properties.

Together, beygingar underpins Icelandic syntax, signaling who does what, when, and under what conditions.