Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Abbreviations 5
Pronunciation 7
How to use this book 13
Lesson 1 Kveðjur/ Greetings 15
Dialogue 1 16
Dialogue 2 16
How to use the vocabulary lists 20
Vocabulary 20
Useful expressions 21
How to greet someone 22
Personal pronouns 23
Verb conjugation and the verb að heita to be called 24
Exercises 24
Lesson 2 Talarðu íslensku? / Do you speak Icelandic? 27
Dialogue 28
Vocabulary 30
Useful expressions 30
The verb að vera to be 30
Regular verb: að tala to talk, to speak 31
Progressive with the verb að vera to be 31
The st-form of the verb 32
Phonetically reduced pú you in yes/no questions 32
Exercises 32
Lesson 3 Morgunmatur / Breakfast 35
Dialogue 36
Vocabulary 38
Useful expressions 38
Gender of nouns 39
Gender of adjectives 41
Answering questions yes: já vs. jú 41
Word order 42
Exercises 43
Lesson 4 Hver ert pú? / Who are you? 45
Dialogue 1 46
Dialogue 2 46
Vocabulary 50
Names of countries 50
Adjectives 51
The prefix ó- in front of adjectives 54
Countries and adjectives 54
Colors 55
The verb combination að vera búinn að + infinitive 56
Exercises 56
Lesson 5 Í heimsókn hjá Jeremy / Visiting Jeremy 59
Dialogue 1 60
Dialogue 2 62
Vocabulary 64
Useful expressions 64
The definite article 65
Possessives 65
Family members and the definite article 66
Numbers 1-20 67
Choosing the right gender for numbers 68
Að ætla að + infinitive 68
Nú, sko, hérna, pú veist and jæja 69
Verb-second rule 70
Exercises 71
Lesson 6 Venjulegur dagur / An ordinary day 73
Dialogue 74
Vocabulary 76
Days of the week 76
Telling time 77
Conjugation of verbs in present tense 78
An overview of verb conjugation in the present tense 82
Some additional rules for verb conjugation 82
Expressing the future 84
Exercises 84
Lesson 7 Ferðamenn Í Reykjavík / Tourists in Reykjavík 87
Dialogue 88
Vocabulary 92
Useful expressions 92
Weak and strong nouns 93
Plural of nouns 94
Nouns with no plural 97
Common irregular plural forms 97
How many … are there here? 97
Adjectives ending in -andi 98
Exercises 99
Lesson 8 Á leið Í útilegu / Going camping 101
Dialogue 1 102
Dialogue 2 104
Vocabulary 106
Useful expressions 106
Vowel deletion in plural nouns 107
Plural with the definite article 108
Plural possessives 108
Plural of adjectives 109
The verb combination að fara að + infinitive 109
Irregular verb: að vilja to want 110
Exercises HO
Lesson 9 Ég sé hval!/I see a whale! 113
Dialogue 1 114
Dialogue 2 114
Vocabulary 118
Useful expressions 118
What are cases? 119
Nominative 119
When to use the accusative 120
Strong nouns in the accusative 121
Weak nouns in the accusative 121
Plural nouns in the accusative 123
Pronouns: annar another and báðir both 123
Imperative 124
Demonstrative pronouns: pessi and petta this 125
Exercises 125
Lesson 10 Búðarferð / Going to the store 129
Dialogue 1 130
Dialogue 2 132
Vocabulary 134
Useful expressions 134
Icelandic money 135
Years 137
Personal pronouns in the accusative 137
Reflexive pronouns in the accusative 137
Adjectives in the accusative 138
To express possession: að eiga, hafa, and vera með 138
Eiga að + infinitive 140
First person imperative: Let's … 141
Exercises 142
Lesson 11 Í atvinnuviðtali / In a job interview 145
Dialogue 146
Vocabulary 150
Useful expressions 150
How to use the dative 151
Strong nouns in the dative 153
Weak nouns in the dative 154
Plural nouns in the dative 154
Personal pronouns in the dative 154
Reflexive pronouns in the dative 155
Adjectives in the dative 155
Exercises 156
Lesson 12 Að kaupa afmælisgjafir / Buying birthday gifts 159
Dialogue 160
Vocabulary 162
Dates 162
To give someone something 163
To buy something for someone 164
Possessive pronouns in the dative 164
Exercises 165
Lesson 13 Hvar er farsíminn minn? / Where is my cell phone? 167
Dialogue 168
Vocabulary 170
Useful expressions 170
Adverbs: Location and movement 171
The declension of the definite article in accusative and dative 171
Dative referring to location with the prepositions í in and á on 172
Location versus movement: í in and á on 173
Exercises 174
Lesson 14 Ég mun sakna pín!/I will miss you! 177
Dialogue 178
Vocabulary 182
Useful expressions 182
Genitive 183
How to use the genitive 183
Strong nouns in the genitive 185
Weak nouns in the genitive 185
Plural nouns in the genitive 186
Definite article in the genitive 186
Personal pronouns in the genitive 187
Possessives in the genitive 187
Modal verbs: munu will and skulu shall 188
Að hlakka til to look forward to 189
Exercises 190
Grammar Summary 193
Exercise Key 197
Icelandic-English Glossary 203
English-Icelandic Glossary 213
Audio Track List 221
