Sjaldan hittisk feigs vǫk frørin;
fljóðin verða at ǫldrum kørin;
lengi hefr þat lýst fyr mér:
lítinn kost á margr und sér.
Sagt er frá, hvé neflauss narir;
nú verðr sumt, þat er mangi varir;
væri betr, at þegðak þoks;
þat hefr hverr, er verðr er, loks.
Sjaldan hittisk vǫk feigs frørin; fljóðin verða kørin at ǫldrum; lengi hefr þat lýst fyr mér: margr á lítinn kost und sér. Sagt er frá, hvé neflauss narir; nú verðr sumt, þat er mangi varir; væri betr, at þegðak þoks; hverr hefr loks þat, er verðr er.
Seldom is a doomed man’s ice-hole found frozen; women are chosen at drinking parties; that has long been clear to me: many a one has little in his power. It is related how a noseless person languishes; now comes something that no one expects; it would be far better that I should be silent; each gets what he deserves in the end.
Verbs: Preterite-present verbs
The present tense of these verbs is like the past tense of strong verbs, and their past tense is weak.
eiga | mega | kunna | skulu | munu | muna | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
indic. pres. | sing. pl. | 1st 2nd 3rd 1st 2nd 3rd | á átt á eigum eiguð eigu | má mátt má megum meguð megu | kann kannt kann kunnum kunnuð kunnu | skal skalt skal skulum skuluð skulu | mun munt mun munum munuð munu | man mant man munum munið muna |
indic. past stem subj. pres. stem subj. past stem | átt- eig- ætt- | mátt- meg- mætt- | kunn- kunn- kynn- | skyld- skyl- skyld- | mund- myn- mynd- | mund- mun- mynd- |