Ég vökva blómin snemma á kvöldin líka.

I water the flowers early in the evenings too.

Breakdown of Ég vökva blómin snemma á kvöldin líka.

• ég: I
• líka: too
• á: in
• kvöldið: the evening
• snemma: early
• vökva: to water
• blómið: the flower

Questions & Answers about Ég vökva blómin snemma á kvöldin líka.

Why do we say blómin instead of just blóm?

blómin is the definite plural form of blóm (“flower”). Icelandic marks definiteness by adding a suffix to the noun. Here you’re referring to specific flowers (“the flowers”), so you use the definite plural. Grammatically it’s also the accusative plural (the object of vökva), but for neuter nouns the nominative and accusative plurals are identical.

What does snemma á kvöldin mean, and why is it constructed this way?

snemma is an adverb meaning “early.” á is a preposition used in time expressions, and kvöldin is the definite plural of kvöld (“evening”). Together snemma á kvöldin means “early in the evenings.” The pattern á + DefPl is a fixed way to express a recurring time period (e.g. á morgnana “in the mornings,” á veturna “in the winters”).

Why isn’t kvöldin in the dative case (like kvöldunum)? Shouldn’t á govern dative?

While á can govern dative or accusative in different contexts, time expressions of the form á + DefPl are a special idiomatic construction. You almost always say á kvöldin for “in the evenings.” The form á kvöldunum (dative definite) is grammatically correct but sounds overly specific or unusual when you mean a general habit.

Why is líka (“also/too”) placed at the end of the sentence?

líka is an adverb and in Icelandic it usually follows the element or clause it modifies. Placed at the end, líka applies to the whole statement—“I water the flowers early in the evenings, too”—emphasizing that this action is additional to something else you do. Moving líka closer to the verb or object would change the focus or nuance.

Can I start the sentence with snemma á kvöldin for emphasis?

Yes. Icelandic main clauses follow the V2 (“verb-second”) rule: the finite verb must be the second element. If you front snemma á kvöldin, you get:
Snemma á kvöldin vökva ég blómin líka.
This version emphasizes “early in the evenings” as the topic.

Is vökva a regular verb, and how do you conjugate it in present and past?

Yes, vökva is a regular weak verb.
Present tense: ég vökva, þú vökvar, hann/hún vökvar, við vökvum, þið vökvið, þeir/þær/þau vökva
Past tense: add -aði – ég vökvaði, þú vökvaðir, hann vökvaði, við vökvuðum, etc.

Could I omit snemma and still make sense?

Absolutely. Ég vökva blómin á kvöldin líka means “I water the flowers in the evenings too.” You simply lose the nuance of “early,” but the sentence remains grammatically correct.