Næturþjónustan kemur í kvöld.

The night service is coming this evening.

Breakdown of Næturþjónustan kemur í kvöld.

• koma: to come
• í kvöld: this evening
• næturþjónustan: the night service

Questions & Answers about Næturþjónustan kemur í kvöld.

Why is næturþjónustan written as one word?

Because Icelandic uses compound nouns very freely, and compounds are usually written as a single word.

So næturþjónustan is made up of:

• nætur- = a form related to nótt/night
• þjónusta = service
• -n = the definite article here

English often prefers separate words, but Icelandic often packs the same idea into one long noun.

Where is the word the in this sentence?

Icelandic usually does not use a separate word for the. Instead, the definite article is attached to the end of the noun.

So:

• þjónusta = service
• þjónustan = the service

In næturþjónustan, the the is the final -n. With feminine nouns ending in -a, this is a very common pattern.

Why does the first part say nætur- instead of nótt?

In Icelandic compounds, the first noun often appears in a genitive-like linking form rather than in its basic dictionary form.

The base word is nótt = night, but in this compound it becomes nætur-.

So næturþjónusta is literally something like night's service or service of the night, even though in natural English you would just think of it as night service.

You do not always need to translate the internal grammar literally, but it helps to recognize that Icelandic compounds often work this way.