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Grammar

1 The Alphabet

The earliest records of the Old Norse (ON) language are found in runic inscriptions. A literary language began to emerge around 1100 AD, whose manuscripts are written in an alphabet adopted from the English literary tradition. The letters of the Old Norse alphabet are given below, along with a rough guide to their pronunciation in the "classical period", ca. 1150-1350 AD. The numbers indicate that several consonants had differing pronunciations depending on their phonetic environment. These differences are indicated in the last column.

Letter		Pronunciation		Environment
á		a as in 'father', long
a		a as in 'father', short
b		b as in 'boy'
c		c as in 'call'
d		d as in 'day'
ð		th as in 'this'
é		é as in French 'été', long
e		é as in French 'été', short
f		(1) f as in 'far'		initial position
		(2) v as in 'very'		medial or final position
g		(1) g as in 'goal'		initial position; immediately following n
		(2) ch as in Scots 'loch'		immediately preceding s or t
		(3) ch as in Scots 'loch', but voiced		otherwise
h		h as in 'have'
í		ee as in 'feet', long
i		ee as in 'feet', short
j		y as in 'year'
k		(1) c as in 'call'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) ch as in Scots 'loch'		immediately before s or t
l		(1) l as in 'leaf'		initially; standing next to d, n, l, r; following an unaccented vowel
		(2) l as in 'leaf', but voiceless		immediately following h at the beginning of a word; at the end of a word when following a voiceless consonant; between voiceless consonants
		(3) le as in 'people'		otherwise
m		m as in 'home'
n		(1) n as in 'sin'		all environments other than (2) or (3), below
		(2) n as in 'sin', but voiceless		immediately following h at the beginning of a word; at the end of a word when following a voiceless consonant; between voiceless consonants
		(3) ng as in 'sing'		immediately preceding g or k
ó		o as in 'vote', long
o		o as in 'vote', short
p		(1) pp as in 'happy'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) f as in 'far'		immediately before s or t
q		c as in 'call'		only in digraph qu, usually written kv
r		r as in 'rather', but trilled
s		s as in 'this'
t		t as in 'boat'
ú		oo as in 'droop', long
u		oo as in 'droop', short
v		b as in Spanish 'saber'
w		w as in 'win'
x		chs as in Scots 'lochs'
ý		ue as in German 'Muenchen', u in French 'tu', long
y		ue as in German 'Muenchen', u in French 'tu', short
z		ts as in 'bits'
þ		th as in 'thin'
æ		a as in 'cat', long
ǫ́		au as in 'naught', long
ǫ		au as in 'naught', short
ø		eu as in French 'feu'
œ		eu as in French 'feu', long

Doubled consonants, e.g. kk or nn, were held twice as long as their corresponding individual counterparts. This is similar to the contrast in Modern English between n in 'run away' and in 'run now'; in the second instance the n is held longer than in the first. Similarly the k-sound in 'book end', compared with 'book case'. Likewise, if a short vowel is thought to occupy one musical beat, then a long vowel occupies nearly two musical beats. The difference between long and short vowels, at least in the era leading up to the classical period, was one of quantity and not quality.

The letters q and w are encountered chiefly in texts of East Norse. They are generally treated as equivalent to k and v respectively.

The letter ǫ́, representing a long back rounded vowel, does not actually appear in ON texts of the classical period. It seems to have existed in an earlier stage of the language, and some editors use the symbol.

There were also three diphthongs. They are listed below, along with their pronunciation.

Diphthong		Pronunciation
au		ow as in 'now'
ei		ay as in 'hay'
ey		combination of ON e+y

By far the most extensive literature written in Old Norse comes from Iceland. For this reason is it quite common to refer to Old Norse as Old Icelandic. Moreover, the grammar and orthography have changed relatively little in the intervening centuries between the documents of Old Icelandic and Modern Icelandic. It is therefore customary to pronounce ON documents according to Modern Icelandic pronunciation. Below is a rough guide to the modern pronunciation.

Letter		Pronunciation		Environment
á		ow as in 'now'
a		(1) a as in French 'mal'		all environments other than (2) or (3), below
		(2) ow as in 'now'		immediately preceding ng
		(3) y as in 'my'		immediately preceding gi
b		p as in 'spin'
c		(see k below)
d		t as in 'stop'
ð		th as in 'this'
é		ye as in 'yes'
e		(1) e as in 'let'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) ay as in 'hay'		immediately preceding ng, gi, or gj
f		(1) f as in 'far'		initial position; before l followed by a voiceless consonant
		(2) v as in 'very'		medial or final position; before l followed by a voiced consonant
		(3) b as in 'buy'		before l or n followed by a vowel; fn sounded as m before voiced consonant
g		(1) g as in 'goal'		initially before back vowels (á, a, ó, o, ú, u, ǫ, au) and ø, and before consonants; medially before l or n; after consonants when followed by a or u; finally after consonants
		(2) ck y as in 'back yard'		initially before front vowels and glides (e, í, i, ý, y, æ, œ, ei, ey, j); medially after consonants when followed by i or j
		(3) y as in 'year'		after vowels when followed by i or j
		(4) ch as in Scots 'loch'		immediately preceding s or t
		(5) ch as in Scots 'loch', but voiced		after a vowel when followed by a, u, r, ð; finally after vowels
h		(1) h as in 'have'		all environments other than (2) or (3), below
		(2) h as in 'huge'		immediately preceding é or j
		(3) c as in 'call'		immediately preceding v
í		ee as in 'feet'
i		(1) i as in 'pit'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) ee as in 'feet'		immediately preceding ng or gi
j		y as in 'year'
k		(1) c as in 'call'		all environments other than (2) or (3), below
		(2) ck y as in 'back yard'		before front vowels and glides (e, í, i, ý, y, æ, œ, ei, ey, j)
		(3) ch as in Scots 'loch'		immediately before t
l		(1) l as in 'leaf'		initially; following an unaccented vowel
		(2) l as in 'leaf', but voiceless		immediately following h at the beginning of a word; at the end of a word when following a voiceless consonant; between voiceless consonants
m		m as in 'home'
n		(1) n as in 'sin'		all environments other than (2) or (3), below
		(2) n as in 'sin', but voiceless		immediately following h at the beginning of a word; at the end of a word when following a voiceless consonant; between voiceless consonants
		(3) ng as in 'sing'		immediately preceding g or k
ó		oa as in 'roam'
o		(1) aw as in 'law'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) oy as in 'boy'		immediately preceding gi
p		(1) pp as in 'happy'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) f as in 'far'		immediately before k, s or t
q		(see k above)
r		(1) r as in 'rather', but trilled		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) rt as in 'cart'		after a vowel and immediately preceding l or n in final position or before a vowel
s		s as in 'this'
t		t as in 'boat'
ú		oo as in 'droop'
u		(1) oo as in 'droop'		immediately preceding ng
		(2) wee as in 'sweet'		immediately preceding gi
		(3) u as in 'cute'		otherwise
v		v as in 'very'
w		(see v above)
x		chs as in Scots 'lochs'
ý		ee as in 'feet'
y		i as in 'pit'
z		s as in 'this'
þ		th as in 'thin'
æ		y as in 'my'
ǫ́		eu as in French 'peur'
ǫ		(1) eu as in French 'peur'		all environments other than (2), below
		(2) oei as in French 'oeil'		immediately preceding ng or gi
ø		eu as in French 'peur'
œ		y as in 'my'

Since c, q, and w only appear in manuscripts with distinctly regional characteristics in the classical period, they have no "modern" pronunciation as such.

Doubled consonants, as in the classical pronunciation, are usually held longer than their individual counterparts. The doubled consonants kk, pp, tt are pre-aspirated in Modern Icelandic. This means that the same puff of air which follows p in American English 'pot' actually precedes kk, pp, or tt in the modern pronunciation. The consonants k, p, and t are also preaspirated when they immediately precede l, m, or n. The double consonant ll has a peculiar pronunciation. Many speakers articulate this as the cluster tl, but where the l is unvoiced. Thus there is a dental or alveolar tap followed by lateral expulsion of air around the tongue, but without any of the vocal chord vibration an English speaker normally associates with l. When consonant clusters exceed two, alteration or deletion may occur, so that, e.g., rigndi is pronounced more like "rindi", barns more like "bass".

The diphthongs too are pronounced differently from their presumed classical values. Their pronunciations are listed below.

Diphthong		Pronunciation
au		oei as in French 'oeil'
ei		ay as in 'hay'
ey		ay as in 'hay'

After the classical period, Icelandic developed an epenthetic vowel, u, which appeared between a consonant (not r) and r. It is most commonly found before such an r in final position. Thus classical maðr is represented by modern maður, classical bindr by modern bindur.

2 Sound System

The sections below discuss the sound system of Old Norse in the classical period, to the extent that it can be reconstructed. This should not be confused with the sound system of Modern Icelandic, which differs from that of Old Norse in several respects.

2.1 Consonants

The sounds of ON may be characterized according to their manner of articulation. The following chart represents the articulation of consonants.

				Labial		(Alveo-)Dental		Velar
Stops
		Voiceless:		p		t		k
		Voiced:		b		d		g
Continuants				f		þ		h
Sibilant						s
Nasals				m		n
Liquids
		Continuant:				l
		Trilled:				r

The above, of course, is an idealization, since Section 1 makes quite clear that the phonemes of ON and the letters are by no means in one-to-one correspondence. The chart places the letters of ON in the position of their most common phonetic value. For example, the position of f in the chart above corresponds only to pronunciation (1) in the preceding section. Likewise, the placement of p in the chart follows from its own pronunciation (1), since its pronunciation (2) is already represented by f. The letter ð is not phonemically (although it is phonetically) distinct from þ and is therefore not included explicitly in the chart. Note also that z is orthographic shorthand for t+s or ð+s, and x for k+s.

2.2 Vowels

The chart below similarly organizes the vowels of ON by their manner of articulation. In each pair, the first member is the short vowel, the second the corresponding long vowel.

		Front				Back
		Unrounded		Rounded		Unrounded		Rounded
High		i, í		y, ý				u
Mid		e, é		ø, œ				o, ó
Low		-, æ				a, á		ǫ, (ǫ́)

The basic vowels a, e, i, o, u all have long variants. The other vowels are derived from these by either i-umlaut or u-umlaut depending on phonetic environment. This led to the asymmetric system shown above.

There were also two semivowels in ON, v and j (v seems originally to have been a semivowel, only later taking on the characteristics of a bilabial fricative). They could not carry the peak of sonority in a syllable, but they could effect umlaut in the vowel of a preceding syllable.

2.3 Syllables and Stress

There are various monosyllabic words in ON, such as á, til, at. In polysyllabic words, when they are not compounds of more than one word, it is customary to divide syllables before a vowel, e.g. far-a, kall-a, gǫrð-um, gam-all-a, hundr-að-a. In compound words, syllable division occurs at the boundary of the compounded elements, e.g. vápn-lauss, vík-ing-a-hǫfð-ing-i (< víkinga + hǫfðingi). Syllable length is an important factor in the operation of many phonological rules, and within this scheme there are the following types of syllables:

		Type		Description		Examples
1		Short		(short vowel) + (short consonant)		bað
2		Long		(short vowel) + (consonant group)		rann, ǫnd
3		Long		(long vowel) + (short/no consonant)		hús, fé, gnúa
4		Overlong		(long vowel) + (consonant group)		nótt, blástr

Though it is traditional, a few important grammars of ON do not follow the above method of syllable division and long/short classification. Alternatively, syllables are divided so that non-initial syllables begin with a consonant, e.g. fa-ra, kal-la, gǫr-ðum, ga-mal-la, hund-ra-ða. (This agrees with syllable division in the classical languages, Latin and Greek.) In this scheme, the long/short distinction follows the principle:

		a short syllable is one that
		ends in a short vowel or
		ends in a long vowel followed by a weakly-stressed short vowel.

For example, the initial syllables of geta, konungr, búa, róa are short. All other syllables are thus long. The fact that a long vowel such as ú is shortened before the following short vowel parallels the shortening of the o of do in a phrase like 'do it!' (This is not the same as in Latin and Greek.) Under the traditional length scheme, grammatical and metrical length differ. Thus bað, under the first scheme, is a grammatically short syllable. In poetry, however, this syllable may be counted as metrically long. The second scheme does in fact count this syllable as long. (The situation is complicated by the fact that different types of poetry employ different rules for determining vowel length.)

Weakly stressed syllables may only contain the short vowels a, i, u. Short vowels may not immediately precede short vowels within a word-form; in situations where this would arise through morphological changes, the first vowel is dropped. For example, lifi- plus the ending -r yields lifir, but with the ending -um gives lifum.

Primary stress falls on the first syllable of a word stem. In compounds of two words, primary stress falls on the first syllable of the first word stem, and secondary stress is given to the first syllable of the second word stem. In triple compounds, the first word receives primary stress, the last word secondary stress, and the middle word tertiary stress, all in accordance with the above-mentioned placement of stress on the word stem. In the following examples, ' precedes the syllable with primary stress, '' the syllable with secondary stress, ''' the syllable with tertiary stress:

Simplex		Duplex		Triplex
'út out
'ganga course		'út-''ganga exit
'dyrr door				'út-'''gǫngu-''dyrr exit door
'land land
'nám seizure		'land-''nám land-settlement
'maðr man				'land-'''náms-''maðr settler

2.4 Umlaut

The process of umlaut, or mutation, is pervasive in ON morphological paradigms. Umlaut refers to what might otherwise be called vocalic assimilation. Specifically, the articulation of a vowel in a given syllable may be changed by the speaker's anticipation of the vowel in the following syllable. Because of this anticipation, the articulation of the following vowel colors the articulation of the given vowel, producing in essence a new vowel with features of both. In ON, i and u most commonly trigger such changes in a preceding vowel, a process called i- and u-umlaut, respectively.

Although pervasive, i- and u-umlaut are no longer productive in ON. The learner of ON must view the process as having already occurred and stopped by the time of the ON texts. Not every i or u in a syllable will cause umlaut in the preceding vowel. Rather the results of i- and u-umlaut have been regularized and should be viewed as yielding vocalic alternations which are frozen within verbal and nominal paradigms. Beyond those vocalic alternations found in paradigms, no other umlaut functions (regularly) in the ON texts. Often the i or u which caused umlaut in a given form will have subsequently been lost, so that the reason for umlaut within a given paradigm may not be apparent on the surface.

In i-umlaut, or front mutation, a following i or j causes a preceding primary stressed vowel to be fronted, while the vowel's roundness remains unaffected. This produces the following correspondences.

		Underlying Vowel		Result of i-umlaut
		a		e
		á		æ
		o		ø
		ó		œ
		u		y
		ú		ý

Examples of where this process does not occur are the following: the i in case endings of masculine and neuter nouns; the thematic i of noun declensions; the thematic i of certain weak verbs. At the time i-umlaut was productive in ON, these vowels were e, and the shift e > i occurred after i-umlaut stopped being an automatic process.

In u-umlaut, or back mutation, a following u or v causes a preceding primary stressed vowel to be rounded, while its backness/frontness remains unaffected. This produces the following correspondences.

		Underlying Vowel		Result of u-umlaut
		a		ǫ
		á		(ǫ́) > á
		e		ø
		é		œ
		i		y
		í		ý
		unstressed a		u

Presumably u-umlaut caused the mutation of the long á to a long back rounded vowel ǫ́, but this seems to have merged with á at an early stage and is not found in texts of the classical period. The u-umlaut of long and short i and e is marginal compared to the u-umlaut of a. Remember that only a, i, u may occur in unstressed syllables, and of these, a shifts to u in the process of u-umlaut.

The sounds o and y also alternate in ON. Originally, u and y alternated as a result of i-umlaut. In certain environments no longer systematic in ON, u lowered to o and left an alternation between o and y.

2.5 Consonant Changes

Consonant changes regularly occurred under several specific circumstances. The most notable of these are given below.

Gemination

The sounds -t or -r geminated (doubled) when attached to a stem ending in a long stressed vowel, e.g. ný- + -t > nýtt; fá- + -ri > fárri.

Simplification

A double consonant is simplified when preceded by another consonant, e.g. akr- + -r > akrr > akr; fagr- + -rar > fagrrar > fagrar; jarl- + -r > jarll (see assimilation, below) > jarl.

Assimilation

The were five important situations for consonant assimilation:

• -r assimilates to preceding l, s, or n in a long syllable, e.g. sæl- + -r > sæll; væn- + -r > vænn; fús- + -r > fúss.
• -ð- assimilates to preceding ð-, yielding -dd-, e.g. eyða 'lay waste' > eyddi (past 3rd sing.). -ð- assimilates to preceding -t- or -s- (and sometimes -k-), yielding -tt-, -st- (-kt-), e.g. setja 'to set' > setti (past 3rd sing.); kyssa 'to kiss' > kyssti; kneikja 'to bend back' > kneikti; but merkja 'to mark' > merkði, rekkja 'to go to bed' > rekkði.
• -ð- or -d- assimilate to following -t, yielding -tt, e.g. kald- + -t > kaltt > kalt; harð- + -t > hartt > hart.
• -nn- occasionally becomes -ð before -r, e.g. mann- + -r > maðr; ann(a)r- + -ar > aðrar; but munnr remains unchanged.
• -k- + -ð- sometimes yields -tt-, e.g. sœkja 'to seek' > sótti (past 3rd sing.); þykkja 'to seem' > þótti; but compare the second rule above.

Devoicing

A final consonant cluster is devoiced, and assimilated, in the second principal part of certain Class III and Class VII strong verbs: -nd > -tt; -ng > -kk; -ld > -lt. For example, binda 'to bind' > batt (past 3rd sing.); stinga 'to sting' > stakk; gjalda 'to pay' > galt; ganga 'to go' > gekk; halda 'to hold' > helt.

Consonant Loss

An -n- or -l- occasionally drops before final -t in an unstressed short syllable, e.g. mikil- + -t > mikit; búin- + -t > búit; but gamal- + -t > gamalt.

3 Strong Declension

There are three grammatical genders in ON -- masculine, feminine, neuter. These have no bearing on sexual gender, but when the referent has a distinct sexual gender, the noun representing it typically has the grammatical gender of the same name (but not always). The gender of compound nouns was that of the final element. There are two numbers, singular (one of a thing) and plural (more than one of a thing), except for the personal pronouns, which also display forms for the dual (two of a thing). There are four nominal cases -- Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative. A noun in the nominative case acts as the grammatical subject of its clause, or specifies something predicated to the subject. A noun in the accusative acts as a direct object, or displays the terminus of directed motion, be the motion spatial or temporal (e.g. 'for several miles' or 'for several days' could be expressed by accusative forms, without the need for prepositions). A noun in the genitive marks a general sphere of relation; this relation could be so specific that it connotes possession ('John's book'), but it might be more general ('a day's journey'). A noun in the dative denotes the indirect object of its clause, or more generally a party interested in the action. Grammatical cases inherently connote what in English would usually require a preposition, so that prepositions are not strictly necessary. But to elicit certain nuances, prepositions are commonly used in ON.

All nouns in ON decline according to strong or weak declensions. This is a property of the noun; a noun declines according to one or the other, not both. The declension must be learned for each noun. The terms 'strong' and 'weak' are historically due to J. Grimm; the terminology is no longer deemed insightful and no import should be read into the names. One might just as easily use 'first' and 'second' for the declensions, but inertia keeps the traditional nomenclature in place. The nominative singular of most strong nouns ends in a consonant; the nominative singular of all weak nouns ends in a vowel. The designations of the declensions follow the thematic vowel of the noun stem, which usually shows itself in ON in the accusative plural of strong masculine nouns. The nominative and accusative forms of neuter nouns are always identical.

3.1 a / ja / wa-Stems

The a / ja / wa-stem nouns are generally masculine or neuter. The endings are as follows.

		Masculine		Neuter
N Sg.		-r		-
A		-		-
G		-s, -r		-s
D		-i		-i
N Pl.		(thematic) + -r		(u-umlaut)
A		(thematic) + -		(u-umlaut)
G		-a		-a
D		-um		-um

There is no ending in the masculine accusative, singular and plural. The thematic vowel shows itself in the masculine plural nominative and accusative. There is no ending for the neuter nominative and accusative, both singular and plural. The historical presence of u in the neuter nominative and accusative plural causes the vowel of the last stem syllable to undergo u-umlaut; the u itself, however, was subsequently dropped and does not occur in texts of the classical period.

The masculine nouns harmr 'sorrow' and himinn 'heaven', and the neuter nouns barn 'child' and kné 'knee', illustrate the a-stem declension.

		Masculine				Neuter
Stem		harm-a-		himin-a-		barn-		kné-
N Sg.		harmr		himinn		barn		kné
A		harm		himin		barn		kné
G		harms		himins		barns		knés
D		harmi		himni		barni		kné
N Pl.		harmar		himnar		bǫrn		kné
A		harma		himna		bǫrn		kné
G		harma		himna		barna		knjá
D		hǫrmum		himnum		bǫrnum		knjám, knjóm

Note the u of the dative plural ending causes u-umlaut of the preceding vowel, as one would expect. The u causing umlaut in the neuter nominative and accusative plural, however, no longer remains. Note also the appearance of a glide j within the paradigm of kné.

Disyllabic nouns generally declined like himinn. The vowel of the last stem syllable dropped before endings beginning with a vowel, or before the thematic vowel itself. The common name Gunnar, D sg. Gunnari, is a notable exception. Some words, such as ketill and lykill, whose first vowel is a result of umlaut brought on by the second syllable, revert to the non-umlauted vowel in syncopated forms, e.g. D sg. katli and lukli.

The masculine nouns niðr 'kinsman' and hirðir 'herdsman', and the neuter nouns ríki 'kingdom', kyn 'kin' and kvæði 'poem', illustrate the ja-stem declension.

		Masculine				Neuter
Stem		niðj-a-		hirðj-a-		ríkj-		kynj-		kvæðj-
N Sg.		niðr		hirðir		ríki		kyn		kvæði
A		nið		hirði		ríki		kyn		kvæði
G		niðs		hirðis		ríkis		kyns		kvæðis
D		nið		hirði		ríki		kyni		kvæði
N Pl.		niðjar		hirðar		ríki		kyn		kvæði
A		niðja		hirða		ríki		kyn		kvæði
G		niðja		hirða		ríkja		kynja		kvæða
D		niðjum		hirðum		ríkjum		kynjum		kvæðum

The nouns niðr and kyn illustrate the declension of so-called short stems; the rest illustrate long stems.

The masculine nouns sǫngr 'song' and sær 'sea', and the neuter noun hǫgg 'strike', illustrate the wa-stem declension.

		Masculine						Neuter
Stem		sǫngv-a-		sæv-a-				hǫggv-
N Sg.		sǫngr		sær		sjór		hǫgg
A		sǫng		sæ		sjó		hǫgg
G		sǫngs		sævar		sjóvar		hǫggs
D		sǫngvi		sæ(vi)		sjó(vi)		hǫggvi
N Pl.		sǫngvar		sævar		sjóvar		hǫgg
A		sǫngva		sæva		sjóva		hǫgg
G		sǫngva		sæva		sjóva		hǫggva
D		sǫngum		sæ(v)um		sjóvum		hǫggum

The w (v in the orthography) of the stem remained only when it followed a short syllable, a g, or a k, and preceded a or u.

3.2 ō / jō / wō-Stems

The ō / jō / wō-stem nouns are feminine. The stems are so-named for historical reasons; the stem vowel does not appear as ō by the time ON is written down. The declensional endings are as follows.

		Feminine
N Sg.		(u-umlaut), -r
A		(-u), -
G		-ar
D		(-u), -
N Pl.		(thematic) + -r
A		(thematic) + -r
G		-a
D		-um

The vowel of the final stem syllable undergoes u-umlaut in the N sg. The nominative ending -r appears only on long jō-stem nouns. The A D sg. ending -u is optional; it generally does not occur with monosyllabic stems. The A D sg. are subject to u-umlaut, even if the u-ending does not appear.

The feminine nouns grǫf 'hole', fjǫðr 'feather', á 'river', and Ingibjǫrg 'Ingeborg' illustrate the ō-stem declension.

		Feminine
Stem		graf-a-		fjaðr-a-		á-a-		Ingibjarg-a-
N Sg.		grǫf		fjǫðr		á		Ingibjǫrg
A		grǫf		fjǫðr		á		Ingibjǫrgu
G		grafar		fjaðrar		ár		Ingibjargar
D		grǫf		fjǫðr		á		Ingibjǫrgu
N Pl.		grafar		fjaðrar		ár
A		grafar		fjaðrar		ár
G		grafa		fjaðra		á
D		grǫfum		fjǫðrum		ám

Note that the r in the N sg. of fjǫðr is part of the stem, not the alternate N sg. ending. Also note the appearance of the -u ending in the A D sg. of Ingibjǫrg. Though the -u ending does not always appear in the A D sg. of o-stem nouns, u-umlaut still occurs.

The feminine short stem nouns ben 'wound' and ey 'island', and the long stem heiðr 'heath', illustrate the jō-stem declension.

		Feminine
		Short		Long
Stem		benj-a-		eyj-a-		heiðj-a-
N Sg.		ben		ey		heiðr
A		ben		ey		heiði
G		benjar		eyjar		heiðar
D		ben		eyju		heiði
N Pl.		benjar		eyjar		heiðar
A		benjar		eyjar		heiðar
G		benja		eyja		heiða
D		benjum		eyjum		heiðum

Note the ending -r in the N sg. of the long stem nouns. The differences between ō / jō-stems parallel those between a / ja-stems.

The feminine noun ǫr 'arrow' illustrates the wō-stem declension.

		Feminine
Stem		ǫrv-a-
N Sg.		ǫr
A		ǫr
G		ǫrvar
D		ǫr(u)
N Pl.		ǫrvar
A		ǫrvar
G		ǫrva
D		ǫrum

4 Strong Conjugation

As with nouns, there were two types of verbs, strong and weak. These labels bear no relation to the same terms applied to nouns. Again the terminology could just as well be replaced with 'Type I' and 'Type II', since the adjectives 'strong' and 'weak' have no real connotation.

There were two tenses in ON, present and past; and three moods, indicative, subjunctive, and imperative. The tenses might more properly be termed past and non-past, inasmuch as the present forms filled the role of both present and future. Compare Modern English 'I am going to the store later', where the present tense has future meaning, equivalent to 'will go'. Likewise, the past forms in ON may have the connotation of several different tenses in Modern English, such as the simple past 'did', perfect 'has done', and pluperfect 'had done'. The latter may be expressed, as in English, by periphrastic constructions. The moods were built off of either the past or present stems, except for the imperative, which only employed the present stem. Generally the past subjunctive forms denoted potential completed actions, whereas the present subjunctive would have no such implication of completion. This parallels somewhat Modern English 'might have done' vs. 'might do'. Sometimes there seems to be little distinction between the two.

4.1 Strong Verb Classes

Strong verbs were characterized by ablaut, or vowel gradation. This process still survives in Modern English, cf. sing-sang-sung-song. Ablaut refers to the meaning- or function-specific alternation of vowels within a single verb's system. As in the example above, the s-ng base gives present verb forms with insertion of i, past verb forms with a, a past participle with u, and a derived noun with o. Not every verb which employs ablaut employs the same ablaut; take for example hang-hung-hung, where present forms are built from the a-form, past from the u-form, past participle from the u-form, and no extant noun derived through ablaut.

There are seven classes of strong verbs, based for the most part on the sequence of vowels in an ablaut system. To illustrate the possible vowel changes within a system, a selection of principal parts of verbs is made. For the study of ON, the usual choice is infinitive, present indicative (pres. 3rd sg.), past indicative (past 3rd. sg.), past indicative (past 3rd pl.), past subjunctive (past subj. 3rd. sg.), past participle. This gives six principal parts in all, from which the remaining forms of the verb may be derived. Note that the past indicative is built from two stems, one employed in the singular, the other in the plural. The principal parts used are certainly not universal, and some grammars make do with fewer; any slack is compensated for by an increased number of phonological rules.

The verbs bíta 'bite', skjóta 'shoot', bresta 'burst', bera 'bear', reka 'drive', and fara 'go' illustrate the principal parts of the first six strong verb classes. Optional principal parts are in parentheses.

Class		Infinitive		(3 Sg. Pres.)		3 Sg. Past		3 Pl. Past		(3 Sg. Past Subj.)		Past Ptcple
I		bíta 'bite'		bítr		beit		bitu		biti		bitinn
II		skjóta 'shoot'		skýtr		skaut		skutu		skyti		skotinn
III		bresta 'burst'		brestr		brast		brustu		brysti		brostinn
IV		bera 'bear'		berr		bar		báru		bæri		borinn
V		reka 'drive'		rekr		rak		ráku		ræki		rekinn
VI		fara 'go'		ferr		fór		fóru		fœri		farinn

For the seventh class, it is convenient to quote additional principal parts: 3rd pl. pres. indic., 3rd sg. pres. subj.. These principal parts are listed in brackets. The seventh class historically comprised reduplicated verbs. The verbs róa 'row' and snúa 'turn' illustrate the seventh class.

Class		Infinitive		(3 Sg. Pres.)		[3 Pl. Pres.]		[3 Sg. Pr. Subj.]		3 Sg. Past		3 Pl. Past		(3 Sg. Pa. Subj.)		Pa. Ptcple
VII		róa 'row'		rœr		róa		rói		reri / røri		røru / reru		reri / røri		róit
		snúa 'turn'		snýr		snúa		snúi		sneri / snøri		snøru / sneru		sneri / snøri		snúit

A few common verbs are idiosyncratic enough to warrant special mention. Though not reduplicated, some grammars place these verbs in the seventh class. Their ablaut series do not fit conveniently into the above classes, and so they are listed below.

Class		Infinitive		(3 Sg. Pres.)		3 Sg. Past		3 Pl. Past		(3 Sg. Past Subj.)		Past Ptcple
(VII)		falla 'fall'		fellr		fell		fellu		felli		fallin
		gráta 'cry'		grætr		grét		grétu		gréti		grátinn
		hlaupa 'leap'		hleypr		hljóp		hljópu		hlýpi		hlaupinn
		leika 'play'		leikr		lék		léku		léki		leikinn

4.2 Active Paradigm

The active endings of the strong verb paradigms are as follows.

Strong Verbs		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imperative
Present
1 Sg.		-		-a
2		-r		-ir		-
3		-r		-i
1 Pl.		-um		-im		-um
2		-ið		-ið		-ið
3		-a		-i
Past
1 Sg.		-		-a
2		-t		-ir
3		-		-i
1 Pl.		-um		-im
2		-uð		-ið
3		-u		-i

The mark "-" represents a form whose ending is zero; a blank space represents the complete absence of any such form.

The conjugation of the second class verb rjúfa 'break' illustrates the endings.

Strong Verbs		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imperative
Present
1 Sg.		rýf		rjúfa
2		rýfr		rjúfir		rjúf
3		rýfr		rjúfi
1 Pl.		rjúfum		rjúfim		rjúfum
2		rjúfið		rjúið		rjúfið
3		rjúfa		rjúfi
Past
1 Sg.		rauf		ryfa
2		rauft		ryfir
3		rauf		ryfi
1 Pl.		rufum		ryfim
2		rufuð		ryfið
3		rufu		ryfi
Infinitive		rjúfa
Pres. Ptc.		rjúfandi
Past Ptc.		rofinn

These forms are derivable from a minimal set of four principal parts, namely the principal parts not in parentheses in the chart of the preceding section. Specifically, these are the following principal parts:

• infinitive: rjúfa;
• 3 (or 1) sg. past indic.: rauf;
• 3 (or 1) pl. past indic.: rufu (rufum);
• past participle: rofinn (neuter sg. rofit).

The procedure for arriving at the verb forms is this:

• present indic. sg. forms: take the infinitive stem rjúf-, apply the rule pres. sg. indic. forms of strong verbs with back vowels undergo front mutation, add endings.
• present indic. pl. / pres. subjunct. (all): take infinitive stem rjúf-, add endings.
• past indic. sg.: take second principal part rauf, add endings.
• past indic. pl.: take stem of third principal part ruf-, add endings.
• past subjunct. (all): take stem of third principal part ruf-, apply rule past subjunct. forms of strong verbs with back vowels undergo front mutation, add endings.
• imperative (all): take infinitive stem rjúf-, add endings.
• present participle: take infinitive stem rjúf-, add endings.
• past participle: take fourth principal part stem rof-, add endings.

Note however that a non-back vowel in a given principal part may undergo back mutation before the ending -um. Labelling the principal part stems as (1), (2), (3), (4), this gives the following schematic representation.

Strong Verbs		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imperative
Present
1 Sg.		(1) + (i-mut.) + -		(1) + -a
2		(1) + (i-mut.) + -r		(1) + -ir		(1) + -
3		(1) + (i-mut.) + -r		(1) + -i
1 Pl.		(1) + (u-mut.) + -um		(1) + -im		(1) + (u-mut.) + -um
2		(1) + -ið		(1) + -ið		(1) + -ið
3		(1) + -a		(1) + -i
Past
1 Sg.		(2) + -		(3) + (i-mut.) + -a
2		(2) + -t		(3) + (i-mut.) + -ir
3		(2) + -		(3) + (i-mut.) + -i
1 Pl.		(3) + (u-mut.) + -um		(3) + (i-mut.) + -im
2		(3) + -uð		(3) + (i-mut.) + -ið
3		(3) + -u		(3) + (i-mut.) + -i
Infinitive		(1) + -a
Pres. Ptc.		(1) + -andi
Past Ptc.		(4) + -inn

4.3 Middle Paradigm

The concept of voice deals with the manner in which agent and patient play a role in a given statement. The agent is the logical performer of an action; the patient is the logical recipient, or object, of an action. The agent may or may not be the grammatical subject of its clause, and likewise the patient may or may not be the direct object of its clause. A statement is active when the agent is also the grammatical subject; in this situation, if the patient is expressed, it is the direct object. An example is 'the dog bites the man'. The dog is the logical performer of the action, the agent, and is also the grammatical subject of the verb 'bites'. The statement is therefore active; the patient, 'the man', is the direct object. A statement is passive when the the patient is the grammatical subject. We may recast the same sentiment as before in the fashion 'the man is bitten by the dog'. Again the logical performer of the action is 'the dog' -- this remains the agent. It is no longer, however, the grammatical subject; rather the patient, 'the man', is the grammatical subject of the verb 'is bitten', making this a passive statement.

The middle voice, as its name would imply, occupies a position somewhere between active and passive, and is typically less precisely defined. The middle voice is used for expressing actions which have some sort of effect back on the subject, either by simple reflexive action ('I washed myself'), by personal benefit ('I had a sacrifice performed'), by internal process ('I called to mind what he said'), or a number of other nuances. In ON, the sense of the middle voice often overlaps with the passive.

The endings of the middle voice are given below. For the most part they are simply the active endings with a post-posed -sk (-mk in the 1st pers. sg.), and attendant sound changes.

Strong Verbs		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imperative
Present
1 Sg.		-umk		-umk
2		-sk		-isk		-sk
3		-sk		-isk
1 Pl.		-umsk		-imsk		-umsk
2		-izk		-izk		-izk
3		-ask		-isk
Past
1 Sg.		-umk		-umk
2		-zk		-isk
3		-sk		-isk
1 Pl.		-umsk		-imsk
2		-uzk		-izk
3		-usk		-isk

As above, the conjugation of the second class verb rjúfa 'break' illustrates the endings.

Strong Verbs		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imperative
Present
1 Sg.		rjúfumk		rjúfumk
2		rýfsk		rjúfisk		rjúfsk
3		rýfsk		rjúfisk
1 Pl.		rjúfumsk		rjúfimsk		rjúfumsk
2		rjúfizk		rjúizk		rjúfizk
3		rjúfask		rjúfisk
Past
1 Sg.		rufumk		ryfumk
2		raufzk		ryfisk
3		raufsk		ryfisk
1 Pl.		rufumsk		ryfimsk
2		rufuzk		ryfizk
3		rufusk		ryfisk
Infinitive		rjúfask
Pres. Ptc.		rjúfandisk
Past Ptc.		rofizk

As in the preceding section, a non-back vowel in a given principal part may undergo back mutation before the ending -umk. This gives the following schematic representation.

Strong Verbs		Indicative		Subjunctive		Imperative
Present
1 Sg.		(1) + (u-mut.) + -umk		(1) + (u-mut.) + -umk
2		(1) + (i-mut.) + -sk		(1) + -isk		(1) + -sk
3		(1) + (i-mut.) + -sk		(1) + -isk
1 Pl.		(1) + (u-mut.) + -umsk		(1) + -imsk		(1) + (u-mut.) + -umsk
2		(1) + -izk		(1) + -izk		(1) + -izk
3		(1) + -ask		(1) + -isk
Past
1 Sg.		(3) + (u-mut.) + -umk		(3) + (i-mut.) + -umk
2		(2) + -zt		(3) + (i-mut.) + -isk
3		(2) + -sk		(3) + (i-mut.) + -isk
1 Pl.		(3) + (u-mut.) + -umsk		(3) + (i-mut.) + -imsk
2		(3) + -uzk		(3) + (i-mut.) + -izk
3		(3) + -usk		(3) + (i-mut.) + -isk
Infinitive		(1) + -ask
Pres. Ptc.		(1) + -andisk
Past Ptc.		(4) + -izk

The present participle middle is declined like the active, with -sk added after the declensional endings. The past participle is formed analogously, but is only found in the neuter.

5 Word Order and Concord

The basic word order of a declarative statement in ON was

		Subject + Verb (+ Adverb) (+ Object),

where Subject and Object may stand for nouns and attendant modifiers, or even whole clauses; Adverb may stand for a single element or adverbial phrase; and Verb stands for a finite verb form. For example, Bǫðvarr gengr nú til þess rúms 'Bothvar goes now to the place...' When the Adverb comes first, it is usually followed by the Verb and Subject,

		Adverb + Verb + Subject (+ Object),

e.g. Nú kømr jóla-aptann 'Now comes Christmas Eve'. Word order is fluid enough that VSO and OVS word orders are chosen when particular emphasis or stylistic variation is desired. When two clauses are joined, the normal word order is followed in each clause. The common conjunction ok 'and', however, is always followed by the verb of the second clause. Thus,

		S + V (+ Adv) (+ O) + ok + V + S (+ O).

For example, hann lætr Hǫtt fara með sér, ok gørir hann þat nauðugr ok kallaði hann sér stýrt til bana 'He commanded Hott to go with him; and he did so unwillingly, and said it would be his death.' The word order of dependent clauses is the same as that for simple declarative main clauses:

		Relative (+ Subject) + Verb (+ Adverb) (+ Object), or
		Relative (+ Adverb) + Verb (+ Subject) (+ Object).

If the subject is simply a lone relative pronoun, then one finds either

		Rel.Pron. + Verb (+ Adverb) (+ Object), or
		Rel.Pron. + Adverb + Verb (+ Object).

Statements of existence of the sort 'there is...', 'there are...' place the subject or topic first, with no blank pronoun or adverb as in Modern English. Thus Margar sagnir eru... means 'There are great stories...'. Contrast Þar er nú hǫfuðstaðr... 'There is the capital...'; þar always has a specifically locative connotation and is not equivalent to 'there' in Modern English existential 'there is/are...' constructions. Truly impersonal constructions arise in the order

		Verb (+ Adverb) + Object.

The subject is not expressed; such constructions are often equivalent to a passive in Modern English: Skal hér nefna suma þeira ('Shall here name some of them') 'Here some of them shall be named.'

An adjective may either precede or follow the noun it modifies. They agree in gender, case, and number. A plural adjective or pronoun referring to two nouns of different gender is put in the neuter, e.g. vit skulum aka tvau 'we two (Thor (masc.) and Freya (fem.)) shall drive together'. An emphatic adjective generally precedes the noun, but this practice varies quite frequently for stylistic reasons, especially to avoid repetitive constructions. A possessive pronoun generally follows the noun it governs, e.g. skip hans 'his ship'; the alternate hans skip places emphasis on the pronoun. Though there is a definite article in ON, it typically does not modify a noun governed by a genitive, e.g. jarlar konungs 'the earls of the king'. The genitive itself, however, may take a definite article: konungr landsins 'the king of the land'.

When a plural subject follows the verb, a preceding pronoun or noun referring to the subject might be put in the singular. The verb may be singular, though usually plural: þat eru nú fjǫrur kallaðar 'that's now called the fore-shore(s).'

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