Understanding the Past Simple Tense in Íslenska
The Past Simple Tense in Icelandic is used to talk about actions that happened in the past. Just like when you say 'I played' or 'She ate' in English, you use this tense to describe things that already happened.
Important Points
- Regular verbs in the past tense often add -aði, -ði, or -di to the stem.
- Irregular verbs can change their stem vowels.
- The past tense does not change for different subjects (I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
- In questions, the verb usually comes first.
To form the Past Simple Tense, you often add endings to the verb. Some verbs are regular and follow a pattern, while others are irregular and change in different ways.
Examples
- Ég borðaði epli.
- Hún fór í skólann.
- Við hlupum í garðinum.
In Icelandic, just like in English, the past tense stays the same no matter who is doing the action. This means you don't have to change the verb for different people.
Examples
- Þú skrifaðir bréf.
- Hann las bók.
- Þau sungu lag.
Important Points
- For regular verbs, learn the common endings.
- For irregular verbs, memorize their past forms.
- Practice by making sentences about what you did yesterday or last week.