Núliðin tíð

A2 — Sagnir

The present perfect: hafa (or vera for motion verbs) + the supine. Ég hef borðað.

I can say what I have done and where I have been (Ég hef farið til Íslands).

The present perfect: hafa (or vera for motion verbs) + the supine. Ég hef borðað.

Examples

Ég hef borðað hákarl. — I have eaten fermented shark.
Hún hefur séð norðurljósin. — She has seen the northern lights.
Ég er kominn heim. — I have come home.
Hefur þú farið til Íslands? — Have you been to Iceland?

SagnirA2

Present perfect

The present perfect: hafa (or vera for motion verbs) + the supine. Ég hef borðað.

Learning Goal

I can say what I have done and where I have been (Ég hef farið til Íslands).

Exam Skills:ReadingWriting

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Ég hef borðað hákarl.

I have eaten fermented shark.

Hún hefur séð norðurljósin.

She has seen the northern lights.

Ég er kominn heim.

I have come home.

Hefur þú farið til Íslands?

Have you been to Iceland?

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

I Have Done It: the Perfect

To say something has happened, Icelandic uses hafa + the supine (the -ð/-t form you met with geta):

Ég hef borðað. - I have eaten.
Ég hef farið til Akureyrar. - I have been to Akureyri.
Hún hefur séð hvali. - She has seen whales.

A small group of motion/change verbs uses vera instead of hafa, and then the form behaves like an adjective and agrees: Ég er kominn (m) / komin (f) - I have arrived; Hún er farin - she is now gone.

Tip: the same motion verb can take either auxiliary - hafa for the experience (ég hef farið til Akureyrar = I have been to Akureyri) and vera for the resulting state (hún er farin = she is away now). Don't force vera onto every past action.

English (have eaten) and German (habe gegessen) work the same way. Russian and Ukrainian have no perfect tense - they use verbal aspect instead - so for those speakers this is a genuinely new structure: hafa + supine, not a past form.

Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Using a past form instead of the supine after hafa (Ég hef *borðaði instead of hef borðað). - Using hafa where vera is needed for motion/change verbs (Ég hef *kominn -> Ég er kominn). - Not agreeing the vera-form for gender (kona segir 'ég er komin', not kominn). - Russian/Ukrainian speakers reaching for aspect instead of building hafa + supine.

Ég hef borðað hákarl.

I have eaten fermented shark.

hafa + supine borðað.

Hún hefur séð norðurljósin.

She has seen the northern lights.

hefur + supine séð (from sjá).

Ég er kominn heim.

I have come home.

Motion verb koma uses vera + kominn, which agrees (m kominn / f komin).

Hefur þú farið til Íslands?

Have you been to Iceland?

Question: hefur þú + supine farið.

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A2 course exercises

A2 Course

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Frequently asked questions

When is Núliðin tíð used?: To say something has happened, Icelandic uses hafa + the supine (the -ð/-t form you met with geta ):
How is Núliðin tíð formed?: A small group of motion/change verbs uses vera instead of hafa, and then the form behaves like an adjective and agrees: Ég er kominn (m) / komin (f) - I have arrived; Hún er farin - she is now gone. Tip: the same motion verb can take either auxiliary - hafa for the experience ( ég hef farið til Akureyrar = I have been to Akureyri) and vera for the resulting state ( hún er farin = she is away now). Don't force vera onto every past action. English (have eaten) and German (habe gegessen) work the same way. Russian and Ukrainian have no perfect tense - they use verbal aspect instead - so for those speakers this is a genuinely new structure: hafa + supine, not a past form.
What are common mistakes with Núliðin tíð?: Using a past form instead of the supine after hafa (Ég hef *borðaði instead of hef borðað). - Using hafa where vera is needed for motion/change verbs (Ég hef *kominn -> Ég er kominn). - Not agreeing the vera-form for gender (kona segir 'ég er komin', not kominn). - Russian/Ukrainian speakers reaching for aspect instead of building hafa + supine.

I Have Done It: the Perfect

To say something has happened, Icelandic uses hafa + the supine (the -ð/-t form you met with geta):

Ég hef borðað. - I have eaten.

Ég hef farið til Akureyrar. - I have been to Akureyri.

Hún hefur séð hvali. - She has seen whales.

Frequently asked questions

When is Núliðin tíð used?

To say something has happened, Icelandic uses hafa + the supine (the -ð/-t form you met with geta ):

How is Núliðin tíð formed?

A small group of motion/change verbs uses vera instead of hafa, and then the form behaves like an adjective and agrees: Ég er kominn (m) / komin (f) - I have arrived; Hún er farin - she is now gone. Tip: the same motion verb can take either auxiliary - hafa for the experience ( ég hef farið til Akureyrar = I have been to Akureyri) and vera for the resulting state ( hún er farin = she is away now). Don't force vera onto every past action. English (have eaten) and German (habe gegessen) work the same way. Russian and Ukrainian have no perfect tense - they use verbal aspect instead - so for those speakers this is a genuinely new structure: hafa + supine, not a past form.

What are common mistakes with Núliðin tíð?