Borgin er mjög lífleg á kvöldin.

Borgin er mjög lífleg á kvöldin.
The city is very lively in the evenings.

Breakdown of Borgin er mjög lífleg á kvöldin.

vera
to be
mjög
very
á
in
borgin
the city
líflegur
lively
kvöldið
the evening
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Questions & Answers about Borgin er mjög lífleg á kvöldin.

What does borgin mean in this sentence, and how is the definite article formed in Icelandic?

borgin is the definite nominative singular form of borg (“city”). Unlike English, Icelandic usually attaches the definite article as a suffix. For a feminine noun like borg, you add -in in the nominative singular:

  • indefinite: borg (“a city”)
  • definite: borg
    • -in = borgin (“the city”)
Why is the adjective lífleg used here instead of líflegur or líflegt?

Icelandic adjectives agree with the noun’s gender, number and case. borgin is feminine, singular, nominative, so the adjective takes the feminine nominative singular ending, which for this weak-declension adjective is zero:

  • masculine nom. sg.: líflegur
  • feminine nom. sg.: lífleg ← used here
  • neuter nom. sg.: líflegt
    Because our noun is feminine singular, we use lífleg.
What role does mjög play in this sentence?

mjög is an invariable adverb meaning very. It intensifies the adjective that follows. In Icelandic, adverbs do not change form for gender, number or case.
Example: mjög + lífleg = “very lively”

What case and number is kvöldin, and why is this form used to express “in the evenings”?

kvöldin is the definite plural of the neuter noun kvöld (“evening”). In neuter nouns the nominative and accusative plural look the same, and the definite article suffix is -in:

  • indefinite plur.: kvöld (“evenings”)
  • definite plur.: kvöld
    • -in = kvöldin (“the evenings”)
      When talking about repeated time intervals, Icelandic typically uses a preposition plus the definite plural form: á kvöldin = “in the evenings.”
Why do we say á kvöldin and not í kvöldin, and could we also use um kvöldin?
  • á kvöldin with á
    • definite plural expresses a habitual time span (“in the evenings”).
  • í kvöld (singular) means “tonight” – just the coming evening.
  • um kvöldin is also possible and means nearly the same as á kvöldin, though um often emphasizes a general time period.
    So for “the city is lively in the evenings,” you’ll frequently hear either borgin er mjög lífleg á kvöldin or borgin er mjög lífleg um kvöldin.
Why is the verb er used here, and does it always come right after the subject?

er is the 3rd-person singular present form of að vera (“to be”), translating as is. In a standard declarative sentence with the subject first, Icelandic follows a Subject-Verb-Object/Complement word order (V2):

  • Subject (borgin)
  • Verb (er)
  • Rest (mjög lífleg á kvöldin)
    If you start the sentence with an adverbial or object, the verb still stays in second position, and the subject shifts to third.
What is the typical word order in this Icelandic sentence, and why?

Icelandic main clauses follow the V2 (verb-second) rule. Here the order is:

  1. Subject: Borgin
  2. Finite verb: er
  3. Adverb: mjög
  4. Adjective/predicate: lífleg
  5. Prepositional time phrase: á kvöldin
    This structure keeps the finite verb in slot two, with other elements before or after as needed.