Questions & Answers about Kannski hef ég tíma á morgun.
It means “maybe/perhaps.” Typical placements:
- Sentence-initial (more emphatic; triggers inversion): Kannski hef ég tíma á morgun.
- Mid-sentence (very common): Ég hef kannski tíma á morgun.
- End-position is unusual, so avoid it.
Note: Initial kannski makes the hedging a bit stronger or more topical.
Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2). If you put anything other than the subject first (here, the adverb kannski), the finite verb must come next. Hence: Kannski [V: hef] [S: ég] tíma ….
Without kannski, you’d say: Ég hef tíma á morgun.
Hef is 1st person singular present of hafa “to have.” Present tense:
- ég hef
- þú hefur
- hann/hún/það hefur
- við höfum
- þið hafið
- þeir/þær/þau hafa
It’s also the auxiliary for the perfect: Ég hef gert það “I have done that.”
Tími (“time”) is a weak masculine noun. Hafa takes a direct object in the accusative, and the accusative singular of tími is tíma.
Singular (for reference): nominative tími, accusative tíma, dative tíma, genitive tíma.
Example: Ég hef ekki tíma “I don’t have time.”
They’re different:
- hafa tíma = “to have (free) time, to be available.”
- eiga tíma = “to have an appointment.”
So Ég á tíma hjá lækni á morgun = “I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow.”
- á morgun = tomorrow
- í morgun = this morning (earlier today)
- í fyrramálið = tomorrow morning (usually early)
- á morgnana = in the mornings (habitually)
- Days of the week: á mánudaginn (on Monday – a specific Monday, accusative); habitually: á mánudögum (on Mondays – dative plural).
Note: You usually need á for “tomorrow”; bare morgun by itself doesn’t normally mean “tomorrow” in everyday speech.
Place ekki after the finite verb:
- Kannski hef ég ekki tíma á morgun. You can also put kannski mid-sentence:
- Ég hef kannski ekki tíma á morgun.
Both are natural; the scope/feel is similar (“maybe not”).
Yes. Just keep V2:
- Á morgun hef ég kannski tíma.
- Á morgun hef ég tíma, kannski. (the comma adds a trailing hedge)
Approximate guidance (varies by speaker):
- Kannski ≈ “KAN-ski” (the sk before i is somewhat palatal, approaching “shk”)
- hef ≈ “hev”
- ég ≈ “yeh/yei,” often with a soft final sound
- tíma ≈ “TEE-ma”
- á ≈ “ow” (as in “cow”)
- morgun ≈ “MOR-gun” (u like in “put”; tap/roll the r)
Yes:
- Ég gæti haft tíma á morgun. (“I might/could have time tomorrow.”)
- Ég er kannski laus á morgun. (“I might be free tomorrow.”)
- Kannski get ég komið á morgun. (“Maybe I can come tomorrow.”)