Old Norse/Adjective Declension
< Old Norse
In this chapter, the following concepts are explained:
- strong declension
- weak declension
- present participle and comparative declension
- comparative and superlative formation
Labial mutation (aka. u-umlaut) is marked by an L before the ending.
Front mutation (aka. i-umlaut) is marked by an F before the ending.
Just like nouns, some adjectives inject a -j- or -v- between the stem and the ending, depending on the stems of their Proto-Germanic ancestors (a-, ō-, ja-, jō-, wa- and wō-stems). The distinction between the adjectives which make either or none of the injections is not made in this page.
Strong declension
Masculine declension
Strong masculine adjective declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-r | -ir |
| genitive |
-s, -ar | -ra |
| dative |
L -um | L -um |
| accusative |
-an | -a |
Feminine declension
Strong feminine adjective declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
L -∅ | -ar |
| genitive |
-rar | -ra |
| dative |
-ri | L -um |
| accusative |
-a | -ar |
Neuter declension
Strong neuter adjective declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-t | L -∅ |
| genitive |
-s | -ra |
| dative |
L -u | L -um |
| accusative |
-t | L -∅ |
Weak declension
Masculine declension
Weak masculine adjective declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-i | L -u |
| genitive |
-a | L -u |
| dative |
-a | L -um |
| accusative |
-a | L -u |
Feminine declension
Weak feminine adjective declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-a | L -u |
| genitive |
-u | L -u |
| dative |
-u | L -um |
| accusative |
-u | L -u |
Neuter declension
Weak neuter adjective declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-a | L -u |
| genitive |
-a | L -u |
| dative |
-a | L -um |
| accusative |
-a | L -u |
Present participle and comparative declension
Masculine declension
Masculine present participle and comparative declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-i | -i |
| genitive |
-a | -i |
| dative |
-a | L -um |
| accusative |
-a | -i |
Feminine declension
Feminine present participle and comparative declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-i | -i |
| genitive |
-i | -i |
| dative |
-i | L -um |
| accusative |
-i | -i |
Neuter declension
Neuter present participle and comparative declension
| case | singular | plural |
| nominative |
-a | -i |
| genitive |
-a | -i |
| dative |
-a | L -um |
| accusative |
-a | -i |
-ari, -astr
Comparative and superlative formation with -ari, --astr
| positive | comparative | superlative |
| -r | -ari | -astr |
-ri, -str with front mutation
Comparative and superlative formation with -ri, -str and front mutation
| positive | comparative | superlative |
| -r | F -ri | F -str |
Irregularities
Some adjectives had their comparative and superlative forms based on different stems than those of their positive forms.
Comparative and superlative formed from different stems
| positive | comparative | superlative |
| gamall | ellri | ellztr |
| góðr | betri | beztr |
| illr, vandr | verri | verstr |
| lítill | minni | minnstr |
| margr | fleiri | flestr |
| mikill | meiri | mestr |
Some comparative and superlative forms developed by analogy from positive forms that were adverbs. These positive forms are indicated in parentheses, and do not exist as adjectives, but rather as adverbs.
Comparative and superlative formed from adverb positives by analogy
| positive | comparative | superlative |
| (aptr) | eptri | epztr, aptastr |
| (fyrir) | fyrri | fyrstr |
| (of) | øfri, efri | øfstr, efstr |
| (út) | ýtri | ýztr |
| (austr) | eystri | austastr |
| (vestr) | vestri | vestastr |
| (norðr) | norðarri | norðastr |
| (suðr) | sunnar | sunnastr |