Level A1
Accusative case – the second case
There are four cases in Icelandic. The second case in the declension table is the accusative case (þolfall, abbreviated as þf.).[a] It shows that the word is having something done to it.
The helper word you use to force a word into the accusative case is „um“ (“about”).
Things that cause the accusative case
The accusative case is very common. The vast majority of verbs cause the accusative case. Some common verbs that do so are:
- að eiga (to own)
- að hafa (to have)
- að tala (to speak)
- að geta (to be able to)
- að vilja (to want)
The following prepositions always cause the accusative case:
- um (about)
- gegnum (through)
- kringum (around)
And these prepositions can either cause the accusative case (the second case) or the dative case (the third case) depending on context (click here to see the difference):
- á (onto)
- eftir (after)
- fyrir (for)
- í (into)
- með (with)
- undir (under)
- við (by)
- yfir (over)