Word
Afslátturinn er fimm prósent á morgun.
Meaning
The discount is five percent tomorrow.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
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Questions & Answers about Afslátturinn er fimm prósent á morgun.
What does the ending in Afslátturinn mean?
It’s the attached definite article. Icelandic adds “the” as a suffix:
- afsláttur = discount
- afslátturinn = the discount
The -inn ending is the masculine singular definite article in the nominative case.
Why is the present tense er (“is”) used when it’s about tomorrow?
Icelandic often uses the present tense for near-future, scheduled, or planned events when there’s a time expression. Á morgun (“tomorrow”) makes the future meaning clear. It’s similar to English “The train leaves tomorrow.”
Could I use a more explicitly future form instead?
Yes. Two common options:
- Afslátturinn verður fimm prósent á morgun. (literally “becomes/will be”)
- Afslátturinn mun vera fimm prósent á morgun. (“will be,” a bit more formal/bookish)
What exactly does á morgun mean, and why not í morgun?
- á morgun = tomorrow (any time tomorrow)
- í morgun = this morning (earlier today) So á morgun is correct for “tomorrow.”
What is the function of á in á morgun?
Here á is a preposition used in time expressions meaning “on/at,” and it takes the accusative. morgun is the accusative form of “morning,” but the idiom á morgun means “tomorrow,” not “in the morning.”
Can I move á morgun to the front of the sentence?
Yes, for emphasis or flow. Icelandic is a V2 language (the finite verb stays in second position):
- Á morgun er afslátturinn fimm prósent.
Why is it fimm prósent and not something like fimm prósenta or prósentur?
- prósent is an indeclinable measure word used after numerals in this predicative use, so fimm prósent is correct.
- prósentur is not used.
- fimm prósenta appears when “percent” modifies a following noun (see next Q).
When do I use fimm prósenta instead of fimm prósent?
Use fimm prósenta before a noun to form a compound-like modifier:
- fimm prósenta afsláttur = a five-percent discount In your sentence, fimm prósent stands alone as a predicate (“is five percent”), so prósent (indeclinable) is used.
Does fimm prósent have to agree with afslátturinn in gender or number?
No. It’s a quantity/measure phrase functioning as a subject complement after er (“is”), so agreement isn’t involved here.
How would I say “There will be a five-percent discount tomorrow”?
Natural options:
- Það verður fimm prósenta afsláttur á morgun.
- Á morgun verður fimm prósenta afsláttur.
What case is morgun in here?
Accusative, governed by á in this time expression. The idiom á morgun always uses the accusative and means “tomorrow.”
Is prósent the same as prósenta?
They’re related but used differently:
- prósent: indeclinable measure word after numbers (e.g., fimm prósent).
- prósenta: a (countable) noun meaning “percentage/rate” (e.g., atvinnuleysisprósentan “the unemployment rate”) and also the form you see in modifiers like fimm prósenta afsláttur.