Tveir vinir koma í kvöld.

Because the subject tveir vinir is third-person plural. In the present tense, koma conjugates as:

• ég kem
• þú kemur
• hann/hún/það kemur
• við komum
• þið komið
• þeir/þær/þau koma With a plural subject, you use koma.

The numeral 2 agrees with the noun in gender, case, and number.

• masculine nominative plural: tveir vinir
• feminine nominative plural: tvær vinkonur
• neuter nominative/accusative plural: tvö börn Since vinur is masculine and the phrase is nominative plural, it’s tveir.

Many masculine nouns in -ur take -ir in the nominative plural. Core forms of vinur:

• singular: nom vinur, acc vin, dat vini, gen vinar
• plural: nom vinir, acc vini, dat vinum, gen vina

There’s no separate indefinite article in Icelandic. Definiteness is shown with a suffix:

• vinir = friends
• vinirnir = the friends With numerals, a definite noun normally precedes the numeral: vinirnir tveir = the two friends. Tveir vinir (as in the sentence) is indefinite: two friends.

Two common options:

• tveir vinir mínir = two friends of mine (descriptive)
• tveir af vinum mínum = two of my friends (partitive, from a particular set)

Here it’s nominative plural (subject). As an object, use accusative:

• subject: Tveir vinir koma.
• object: Ég sá tvo vini í kvöld. (I saw two friends tonight.) Dative plural: tveimur vinum (also tveim vinum). Genitive plural: tveggja vina.

Í kvöld is a fixed time expression meaning tonight/this evening. Í can take accusative or dative; for this time meaning it takes the accusative. Kvöld is neuter and looks the same in nominative and accusative singular, so you don’t see a change. Related patterns:

• í dag (today), í nótt (tonight/last night by context)
• but á morgun (tomorrow), á mánudaginn (on Monday)

Yes. Icelandic is verb-second (V2), so the finite verb still comes second:

• Í kvöld koma tveir vinir. This gives emphasis to the time.

Put ekki right after the finite verb:

• Tveir vinir koma ekki í kvöld. Other adverbs like aldrei, varla, bara also follow the finite verb in simple clauses.

Place the finite verb first:

• Koma tveir vinir í kvöld? For wh-questions, put the wh-word first but keep the verb second: Hvenær koma tveir vinir?

Approximate IPA and tips:

• Tveir [tveiːr] (tv cluster; r is tapped/trilled)
• vinir [ˈvɪːnɪr] (stress on first syllable)
• koma [ˈkʰɔːma] (aspirated k; long open o)
• í [iː] (long ee)
• kvöld [kvœlt] (ö = [œ]; the ld cluster sounds like a voiceless tl) Whole: [ˈtveiːr ˈvɪːnɪr ˈkʰɔːma iː kvœlt]

Add an adjective before the noun; it agrees with the noun:

• Tveir góðir vinir koma í kvöld. Here góðir is masculine nominative plural to match vinir.

Yes, though present + time phrase is normal:

• Tveir vinir munu koma í kvöld. (will come — prediction/expectation)
• Tveir vinir ætla að koma í kvöld. (intend/plan to come)