Hún drekkur te á morgnana.

She drinks tea in the mornings.

Breakdown of Hún drekkur te á morgnana.

• drekka: to drink
• hún: she
• á: in
• morguninn: the morning
• te: the tea

Questions & Answers about Hún drekkur te á morgnana.

What are the parts of the sentence (subject, verb, object, time phrase)?

• Hún — subject pronoun (she), nominative.
• drekkur — verb, 3rd person singular present of drekka (to drink).
• te — direct object (tea), a neuter mass noun.
• á morgnana — time adverbial: “in the mornings,” literally “on the mornings.”

Why is it drekkur and not “drekkar”? How does drekka conjugate?

Drekka is a strong verb. In the present tense:

• ég drekk
• þú drekkur
• hann/hún/það drekkur
• við drekkum
• þið drekkið
• þeir/þær/þau drekka

So 3rd person singular is drekkur, not “drekkar.”

What exactly does á morgnana mean, and why this form?

It means “in the mornings” (habitually). It’s á + accusative plural definite of morgunn (morning): morgnana. Icelandic often uses the accusative (frequently with a definite plural) for recurring times of day:

• á morgnana (in the mornings)
• á kvöldin (in the evenings)
• á daginn (in the daytime)

How is this different from á morgun and í morgun?

• á morgnana = in the mornings (habitual, repeated).
• á morgun = tomorrow.
• í morgun = this morning (earlier today).

What case is morgnana, and why that case after á?

Morgnana is accusative plural definite of morgunn. The preposition á can govern accusative or dative; with time expressions that denote duration or habitual time, accusative is standard. You might see á morgnunum (dative plural definite) when referring to a specific, previously identified set of mornings, but the generic habitual phrase is accusative: á morgnana.

Can I change the word order for emphasis?

Yes. Icelandic main clauses are verb-second (V2). You can front the time phrase:

• Á morgnana drekkur hún te. The finite verb (drekkur) still comes second. This is natural if you want to emphasize when the action happens.

How do I make it negative?

Place ekki after the finite verb:

• Hún drekkur ekki te á morgnana. (She doesn’t drink tea in the mornings.) For “never,” use aldrei:
• Hún drekkur aldrei te á morgnana.

How do I ask the yes/no question “Does she drink tea in the mornings?”

Invert subject and verb (V2 still holds):

• Drekkur hún te á morgnana?

Why is there no article with te? Can I ever say “the tea”?

Mass nouns in Icelandic typically have no article in general statements: drekkur te = “drinks tea.” If you mean a specific tea, you can use the definite form (neuter): teið (the tea). Example:

• Hvar er teið sem þú keyptir? (Where is the tea you bought?)

How do I say “She is drinking tea (right now)” as opposed to a habit?

Use the progressive-like construction vera að + infinitive:

• Hún er að drekka te. (right now) The plain present (Hún drekkur te) can express a general truth or habit.

Are there alternatives to á morgnana for “in the mornings”?

Yes, you’ll also hear um morgna (with um + accusative plural), e.g. Hún drekkur te um morgna. Both are idiomatic; á morgnana is very common.

Any quick pronunciation tips?

• Hún: long “oo” sound, roughly “hoon.”
• drekkur: stress on the first syllable; kk sounds like a hard “k” with a slight breath (roughly “DREH-kur”).
• te: long “eh” sound, like “TEH.”
• á: like “ow” in “cow.”
• morgnana: say it as three beats: “MORG-na-na” (the “rg” cluster is tight; don’t insert a vowel).