veriä

Verið is the past participle of the Icelandic verb vera, meaning "to be." It corresponds to the English word "been" and is used in compound tenses and periphrastic constructions to express that a state has occurred or continued.

Usage and forms:

In present perfect tense, verbal phrases use hafa (to have) plus the past participle: ég hef verið, þú hafður verið? Wait, correct form: þú hefur verið, hann hefur verið. Examples: Ég hef verið í vinnunni í dag. Þetta hefur verið spennandi. In the pluperfect, sem and past perfect, a form with hafði is used: ég hafði verið, við höfðum verið. Example: Ég hafði verið að vinna þegar símn hringdi. In the future perfect, mun hafa verið is used: ég mun hafa verið. Example: Ég mun hafa verið hér áður en kvöldið líður. The construction with að to express ongoing activity is common in combination with hafa: ég hef verið að vinna (I have been working).

Etymology and cognates:

Verið descends from the verb vera, with roots in Old Norse and Proto-Germanic. Cognate forms occur in other Nordic languages, such as Danish været, Norwegian vært, and Swedish varit, reflecting a shared Germanic heritage.

Notes:

Verið is typically not inflected for gender or number when used with auxiliary verbs in these tenses; its role is to supply the meaning "been" within the periphrastic construction. See also vera (to be) for the base verb and its full conjugation across tenses.