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Grammar

16 Weak Nominal Declension

In contrast to the situation regarding adjectives, the property of being weak or strong is inherent in any given noun. A noun is either strong or weak lexically, and does not change depending on context. Thus maðr 'man' is strong, and so takes strong nominal endings at all times. But bani 'bane' is weak, and takes weak endings always. The weak nouns are historically n-stems, and are typically classified as such in the standard grammars. The -n has dropped, however, in most forms by the period of ON. It survives only regularly in the G pl. of feminine and neuter nouns, but rarely in masculines. The -n is less common in prose, but shows up in forms other than the G pl. in poetry.

Several feminine weak nouns show j before the vowel of the case marker. In stems ending in a velar, the j drops before the G pl. -na. Thus kirkja 'church', but kirkna 'of churches'. Stems which do not end in a velar take the G pl. ending -a and retain the j, e.g. hetja 'hero' vs. hetja 'of heroes'.

The stem-final i of masculine weak nouns is retained as j when it follows a velar and precedes a or u. Thus Væringi 'Varangian' vs. N pl. Væringjar 'Varangians' and D pl. Væringjum 'to the Varangians'. The i is also retained in some nouns when preceded by non-velars.

16.1 an/jan-Stems

The an- and jan-stem weak nouns are generally masculine and neuter. The masculine nouns are characterized by the vowel -i in the N sg., while the neuter shows -a. Both genders have -a in all the singular oblique forms. The masculine nouns bogi 'bow', bryti 'bailiff', gumi 'man', and the neuter hjarta 'heart', illustrate the declension.

		Masculine		Neuter
Stem		bogi-		bryti-		gumi-		hjarta-
N Sg.		bogi		bryti		gumi		hjarta
A		boga		brytja		guma		hjarta
G		boga		brytja		guma		hjarta
D		boga		brytja		guma		hjarta
N Pl.		bogar		brytjar		gum(n)ar		hjǫrtu
A		boga		brytja		gum(n)a		hjǫrtu
G		boga		brytja		gumna		hjartna
D		bogum		brytjum		gum(n)um		hjǫrtum

16.2 ōn/jōn-Stems

All ōn/jōn-stem weak nouns are feminine. These nouns are characterized by a stem, and hence N sg., ending in -a. The singular oblique cases end in -u. Some nouns ending in -sjá also follow this declension. The nouns saga 'tale', stjarna 'star', ásjá 'help', brynja 'mailcoat' illustrate the paradigms.

		Feminine
Stem		saga-		stjarna-		ásjá-		brynja-
N Sg.		saga		stjarna		ásjá		brynja
A		sǫgu		stjǫrnu		ásjá		brynju
G		sǫgu		stjǫrnu		ásjá		brynju
D		sǫgu		stjǫrnu		ásjá		brynju
N Pl.		sǫgur		stjǫrnur		ásjár		brynjur
A		sǫgur		stjǫrnur		ásjár		brynjur
G		sagna		stjarna		ásjá		brynja
D		sǫgum		stjǫrnum		ásjám		brynjum

Some nouns like ásjá could decline like á, with G sg. ásjár. The common noun kona 'woman' has G pl. kvenna or kvinna.

16.3 in-Stems

The in-stem nouns are all feminine. They are characterized by a final -i which remains as ending in all singular forms. These are typically abstract nouns, so that plural forms are rare. The nouns elli 'old age' and gørsimi 'treasure' illustrate the paradigm.

		Feminine
Stem		elli-		gørsimi-
N Sg.		elli		gørsimi
A		elli		gørsimi
G		elli		gørsimi
D		elli		gørsimi
N Pl.		-		gørsimar
A		-		gørsimar
G		-		gørsima
D		-		gørsimum

The declension of the plural follows that of the ō-stems.

17 Adjectives

As already mentioned, adjectives can be declined according to either weak or strong paradigms, depending on the situation at hand. The weak forms are used in modifying a definite noun, while the strong endings are used to modify an indefinite noun. For example, sterkr víkingr 'a strong viking' vs. inn sterki víkingr 'the strong viking'; fǫgr kona 'a beautiful woman' vs. in fagra kona 'the beautiful woman'; skarpt sverð 'a sharp sword' vs. it skarpa sverð 'the sharp sword'. As one can see from these examples, there is no correlation between weak nouns and weak adjectives, nor between strong nouns and strong adjectives. The strong/weak distinction is lexical when applied to nouns, situational when applied to adjectives. An adjective must be weak when the noun modified is accompanied by a definite article. Even in the absence of a definite article, a weak adjective still has definite force. Thus Helga fagra and Helga in fagra are both 'Helga the Fair'.

17.1 Weak Declension

The weak adjective endings are listed below.

		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
N Sg.		-i		-a		-a
A		-a		-u		-a
G		-a		-u		-a
D		-a		-u		-a
N Pl.		-u		-u		-u
A		-u		-u		-u
G		-u		-u		-u
D		-um		-um		-um

The adjectives sterkr 'strong', vænn 'handsome', gamall 'old', nýr 'new', frægr 'famous', rǫskr 'brave' illustrate the paradigms. The masculine forms are as follows.

Stem		sterk-		væn-		gamal-		nýj-		frægj-		rǫskv-
N Sg.		sterki		væni		gamli		ný		frægi		rǫskvi
A		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
G		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
D		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
N Pl.		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
A		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
G		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
D		sterkum		vænum		gǫmlum		nýjum		frægjum		rǫskum

The feminine forms are as follows.

Stem		sterk-		væn-		gamal-		nýj-		frægj-		rǫskv-
N Sg.		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
A		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
G		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
D		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
N Pl.		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
A		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
G		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
D		sterkum		vænum		gǫmlum		nýjum		frægjum		rǫskum

The neuter forms are as follows.

Stem		sterk-		væn-		gamal-		nýj-		frægj-		rǫskv-
N Sg.		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
A		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
G		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
D		sterka		væna		gamla		nýja		frægja		rǫskva
N Pl.		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
A		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
G		sterku		vænu		gǫmlu		nýju		frægju		rǫsku
D		sterkum		vænum		gǫmlum		nýjum		frægjum		rǫskum

17.2 Comparison of Adjectives

Most adjectives form the comparative by adding the suffix -ar- to the stem, and then adding the case ending to this. The superlative is formed by adding -ast- and then the case endings. The comparative case endings are as follows.

		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
N Sg.		-i		-i		-a
A		-a		-i		-a
G		-a		-i		-a
D		-a		-i		-a
N Pl.		-i		-i		-i
A		-i		-i		-i
G		-i		-i		-i
D		-um		-um		-um

Though these endings resemble those of weak adjectives, they are not necessarily definite, so that e.g. ljótari maðr is 'an uglier man'. The comparative of hvass 'sharp' illustrates the paradigm.

		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
N Sg.		hvassari		hvassari		hvassara
A		hvassara		hvassari		hvassara
G		hvassara		hvassari		hvassara
D		hvassara		hvassari		hvassara
N Pl.		hvassari		hvassari		hvassari
A		hvassari		hvassari		hvassari
G		hvassari		hvassari		hvassari
D		hvǫssurum		hvǫssurum		hvǫssurum

The superlative declines like any other adjective, using the strong adjective endings for indefinite roles, weak endings for definite. For example, strong forms ljótastr (masc. N sg.) 'ugliest', ljótastir (masc. N pl.), ljótust (fem. N sg.), ljótastar (fem. N pl.), ljótast (neut. N sg.), ljótust (neut. N pl.). The declension parallels that of gamal-. Examples of weak forms: inn ljótasti (masc. N sg.) 'the ugliest', inir ljótustu (masc. N pl.), in ljótasta (fem. N sg.), inar ljótustu (fem. N pl.), it ljótasta (neut. N sg.), in ljótustu (neut. N pl.).

Several adjectives are derived by addition of the suffix -lig-. Addition of the comparative ending -ar- often results in syncope: when the a of the ending is unstressed and followed by a single consonant plus vowel, the a is dropped. This obtains in all forms of the comparative. For example, gørviligr 'accomplished' and líkligr 'likely' have the forms gørviligri 'more accomplished' and líkligri 'more likely'. This syncope usually is not found in the superlative, e.g. masc. N sg. líkligastr 'most likely', fem. N sg. gørviligust 'most accomplished'. Some words, however, do show syncope even in the superlative: efniligr 'promising', efniligri 'more promising', efniligstr 'most promising'. Generally disyllabic adjectives drop the a of the comparative and superlative endings.

Several adjectives form the comparative and superlative simply by adding -r- or -st-, respectively, with attendant fronting (i-umlaut) of the stem vowel. The case endings are the same as those for comparatives and superlatives in -ar- and -ast-. For example, langr (stem lang-) 'long' has the comparative lengri (masc. N sg.) and the superlative lengsti (weak masc. N sg.) or lengstr (strong masc. N sg.); ungr (stem ung-) 'young' has yngri and yngsti/yngstr. The adjectives which most commonly form the comparative and superlative in this way are listed below.

Stem		Positive		Comparative		Superlative (weak, strong)
fá- 'few'		fár		færi		fæsti, fæstr
fagr- 'fair'		fagr		fegri		fegrsti, fegrstr
há- 'high'		hár		hæri		hæsti, hæstr
lág- 'low'		lágr		lægri		lægsti, lægstr
sein- 'late'		seinn		seinni		seinsti, seinstr
skamm- 'short'		skammr		skemmri		skemmsti, skemmstr
smá- 'small'		smár		smæri		smæsti, smæstr
stór- 'big'		stór		stœri		stœrsti, stœrstr

Some adjectives form the comparative and superlative by either method, employing either the suffixes -ar-, -ast- or -r-, -st- (with fronting). For example, djúpr 'deep' forms either djúpari, djúpasti, djúpastr or dýpri, dýpsti, dýpstr; similarly frægr 'famous' forms frægjari, frægjasti, frægjastr or frægri, frægsti, frægstr.

A few adjectives have comparatives and superlatives formed from completely different stems. The most common are listed below.

Positive Stem		Comparative Stem		Superlative Stem
góð- 'good'		betr-		bezt-
ill-, vánd- 'bad'		verr-		verst-
mikil- 'great'		meir-		mest-
lítil- 'little'		minn-		minnst-
marg- 'many'		fleir-		flest-
gamal- 'old'		eldr-, ellr-		elzt-

18 Relatives, Interrogatives, and Indefinites

18.1 Relatives

Old Norse employs the word er, earlier es, as an all-purpose relative particle. It is indeclinable, and can therefore represent any case, gender, and number. Sometimes it is preceded by a form of sá to indicate gender and number, e.g. sú er 'who' (fem. sg.). This form of sá may belong to the relative clause itself, but often it belongs to the preceding clause, so that its case bears no relation to the case represented by er: ...sverð þat er..., depending on context, could represent '(that is) the sword, which (bears his name)' as well as '(that is) the sword, by which (he was killed)', or '(that is) the sword, of which (the legacy is well-known)'. er is also used with demonstrative adverbs or particles to make relatives, e.g. þar 'there' vs. þar er 'where', þá 'then' vs. þá er 'when'. The word sem is often used with the same functions as er, especially in the later texts. There are no separate relative pronouns or adjectives, and, unlike other Indo-European languages, the stem of the interrogative pronoun is not used in this role.

18.2 Interrogatives

The basic interrogative stem is hverj- 'who, which, what', used both as an adjective and as a pronoun. As an adjective it takes strong endings. The paradigm is given below.

		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
N Sg.		hverr		hver		hvert
A		hvern		hverja		hvert
G		hvers		hverrar		hvers
D		hverjum		hverri		hverju
N Pl.		hverir		hverjar		hver
A		hverja		hverjar		hver
G		hverra		hverra		hverra
D		hverjum		hverrjum		hverrjum

The pronoun sometimes employs the same forms, but alternate forms are quite common. These are listed below.

		Masc./Fem.		Neut.
N Sg.		hverr		hvat
A		hverjan, hvern		hvat
G		hvers, hves(s)		hvers, hves(s)
D		hverjum, hveim		hví

The plural is the same as the adjective, with hveim used as a common contraction for the D pl. hverjum.

The pronoun hverj- in the sense 'which (of many)' contrasts with hvár- 'which of two'. hvár- declines as a regular strong adjective, e.g. masc. N sg. hvárr, pl. hvárir; fem. N sg. hvár, pl. hvárar; neut. N sg. hvárt, pl. hvár.

Certain case forms of the interrogative pronouns were frozen and used as interrogative adjectives. The most common are listed below.

Interrog. Adv.		Meaning
hvaðan		'whence'
hvar		'where'
hvert		'whither'
hvárt		'whether (or not)'
hvé		'how'
hvenær		'when'
hví		'why'
hversu		'how'
hvernig		'how, by what means'

The negative correlation is expressed with hvárki... né 'neither... nor'.

18.3 Indefinites

For the most part, indefinite pronouns are formed in the same fashion as normal indefinite (i.e. strong) adjectives. Several of the indefinite pronouns, however, have minor peculiarities and differences from strong adjective declension. The most common indefinites are treated below.

all- 'all' follows the regular adjective declension, e.g. masc. N sg. allr, pl. allir; fem. N sg. ǫll, pl. allar; neut. N sg. allt, pl. ǫll.

sum- 'some, (a) certain' follows the regular adjective declension, e.g. masc. N sg. sumr, pl. sumir; fem. N sg. sum, pl. sumar; neut. N sg. sumt, pl. sum.

ein- 'one' as a pronoun is distinguished from the numeral ein- 'one'. As a pronoun it signifies any given indefinite referent, and occurs only in the singular. All of its forms follow the regular strong adjective declension, except the neut. N and A sg. forms eitt (instead of *eint).

annar- '(an) other' has a variant stem aðr- before case endings that begin with a vowel. Contraction yields masc. A sg. annan, and assimilation yields neut. N/A sg. annat. See Section 13.2 for the declension.

nǫkkur- 'any, some; a certain' declines as a regular strong adjective, except for a contracted masc. A sg. form nǫkkurn and neut. N/A sg. nǫkkut. The stem nakkvar- is also used. The declension is as follows.

		Masculine				Feminine				Neuter
N Sg.		nakkvarr		nǫkkurr		nǫkkur				nakkvat		nǫkkut
A		nakkvarn		nǫkkurn		nakkvara		nǫkkura		nakkvat		nǫkkut
G		nakkvars		nǫkkurs		nakkvarar		nǫkkurar		nakkvars		nǫkkurs
D		nǫkkurum				nakkvarri		nǫkkurri		nǫkkuru
N Pl.		nakkvarir		nǫkkurir		nakkvarar		nǫkkurar		nǫkkur
A		nakkvara		nǫkkura		nakkvarar		nǫkkurar		nǫkkur
G		nakkvarra		nǫkkurra		nakkvarra		nǫkkurra		nakkvarra		nǫkkurra
D		nǫkkurum				nǫkkurum				nǫkkurum

ein- + hverj- 'one, some'. These two stems often combine to form a pronoun. The second member hverj- is always declined; the first member may either remain invariant or be declined along with the second member. For example, masc. G sg. einshvers or einhvers.

19 Present Participle

The present participle is derived by adding the suffix -nd- to the verbal infinitive. The declension follows that of comparative adjectives. Thus þegja 'be silent', þegjandi 'being silent'; hlæja 'laugh', hlæjandi 'laughing'; ganga 'go', gangandi 'walking'. The present participle of sofa 'sleep' serves to illustrate the declension.

		Masculine		Feminine		Neuter
N Sg.		sofandi		sofandi		sofanda
A		sofanda		sofandi		sofanda
G		sofanda		sofandi		sofanda
D		sofanda		sofandi		sofanda
N Pl.		sofandi		sofandi		sofandi
A		sofandi		sofandi		sofandi
G		sofandi		sofandi		sofandi
D		sofǫndum		sofǫndum		sofǫndum

The participle denotes an action ongoing at the time of the main verb. Its use is much less frequent in ON than its counterpart in Modern English, though for the most part it is able to fill the same roles. It may be used in a simple adjectival role, e.g. logandi brandr 'a burning brand'. The force of the participle can be adverbial, e.g. hon gekk þegjandi 'she went being silent', which has the sense of Modern English 'she went silently.'

Some common nouns are in origin present participles, such as bóndi 'farmer, husband' (= búandi < búa 'dwell, settle') or frændi 'kinsman'. These follow the declension of the nd-stem nouns discussed in Section 11.2.

20 Adjective Use

As already noted, adjectives have strong and weak forms. The strong forms are indefinite, while the weak are definite. A predicate adjective, not used as a substantive, is strong. An attributive adjective is usually strong in poetry, even when prose would use a weak adjective with the definite article. For example: fyrr vil ek kyssa konung ólifþan, en þú blóþogri bryniu kastir 'sooner will I kiss the lifeless king, than you cast off the bloody byrnie'. This use is not confined to poetry alone; examples from prose are not uncommon: með fǫþur sinn gamlan 'with his old father'. Though the possessive sinn serves to make the noun definite, the strong form of the adjective is still used. Even epithets may occasionally use the strong form of the adjective instead of the more common weak form: Eiríkr rauðr 'Erik the Red'. In prose the vocative more often employs the strong form of the adjective: forþa þér, vesall maðr! 'save yourself, unfortunate man!'

Often ON uses a simple adjective where Modern English would use a phrase or some other circumlocution. The adjective usually takes the strong form in such situations, even when used in conjunction with a definite article. Examples are í miðjum hauginum 'in the middle of the hill'; um þueran skálann 'straight across the hall'; ǫndorþan vetr 'the first part of the winter'. Such usage even applies to pronouns, e.g. þeir margir 'many of them'.

Poetry and high-style composition make more frequent use of substantives with indefinite form than does simple prose. For example: blindr er betri, en brendr sé 'a blind (man) is better off than a burned (man) would be'; hvat muntu, ríkr, vinna 'what would you tell, powerful (man)'; rétt 'Right (vs. Wrong)'. Definite adjectives with a definite article are uncommon even in poetry. Their use in prose is mostly confined to names of peoples, e.g. inir ensku 'the English'. These forms are also used with ordered items, e.g. inn yngri, inn ellri 'the younger, the older'.

The weak adjective is found in prose without the definite article in epithets following the name, e.g. Hákon góði 'Hakon the Good'. The same is found with comparatives, superlatives, and ordinals placed before the noun they modify: fyrra sumar 'last summer'; á vinstri hlið 'on the left side'; í næsta hús 'in the next house'; við þriðja mann 'with the third man'.

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