Questions & Answers about Mjólkin er á tilboði í dag.
The bold -in bold is the suffixed definite article for feminine nouns, so bold mjólkin bold means bold the milk bold. Icelandic doesn’t have a separate word for the; instead, it attaches an ending:
- masculine: bold -inn bold (bold maðurinn bold = the man)
- feminine: bold -in bold (bold bókin bold = the book)
- neuter: bold -ið bold (bold borðið bold = the table)
Because bold á bold takes the dative case when it indicates a location or state, and bold tilboð bold in the dative singular is bold tilboði bold. The phrase bold á tilboði bold literally means on offer and is a set way to say on sale.
- Static location/state: bold á bold + dative (bold á tilboði bold = on offer)
- Motion/direction: bold á bold + accusative (e.g., bold setja mjólkina á tilboð bold = put the milk on special)
Bold tilboð bold means an offer/special deal. It’s a neuter noun. Key forms:
- singular: nom/acc bold tilboð bold, dat bold tilboði bold, gen bold tilboðs bold
- plural: nom/acc bold tilboð bold, dat bold tilboðum bold, gen bold tilboða bold
Bold í dag bold literally means in day and is the standard way to say today. With time expressions, bold í bold usually takes the accusative. The noun bold dagur bold (day) declines:
- nom bold dagur bold, acc bold dag bold, dat bold degi bold, gen bold dags bold So bold dag bold here is the accusative.
Yes.
- Bold Mjólk er á tilboði í dag bold means milk (as a category) is on sale today.
- Bold Mjólkin er á tilboði í dag bold usually refers to specific milk in context (e.g., at this store, the milk we’ve been discussing). Both are possible; the definite often feels more specific.
They’re different:
- Bold á tilboði bold: discounted/on special (item-level discount).
- Bold á útsölu bold: at a sale (clearance/seasonal sale event).
- Bold til sölu bold: for sale (available to buy, not necessarily discounted).
- Bold í boði bold: on offer/provided/available (often complimentary or offered by a host, not a discount). For store discounts on an item, bold á tilboði bold is your go-to.
Yes, Icelandic allows flexible word order for emphasis:
- Neutral: bold Mjólkin er á tilboði í dag. bold
- Time-first: bold Í dag er mjólkin á tilboði. bold
- Focus on the discount: bold Mjólkin er í dag á tilboði. bold All are grammatical; the first is the most neutral.
- Negative: place bold ekki bold after the finite verb bold er bold.
- bold Mjólkin er ekki á tilboði í dag. bold
- Yes/no question: invert verb and subject.
- bold Er mjólkin á tilboði í dag? bold
Change the time expression and, if needed, the verb tense:
- Past: bold Mjólkin var á tilboði í gær. bold (The milk was on sale yesterday.)
- Future: bold Mjólkin verður á tilboði á morgun. bold (The milk will be on sale tomorrow.)
Approximate guidance:
- bold Mjólkin bold: initial bold mj bold like m + y, bold ó bold like long “oh,” bold lk bold is a clear lk, final bold -in bold like “in.” Roughly “MYOHLK-in.”
- bold er bold: “ehr.”
- bold á bold: “ow” as in “cow,” but shorter.
- bold tilboði bold: “TIL-bo-thi” (bold ð bold is the voiced th in “this”).
- bold í bold: long “ee.”
- bold dag bold: “da-gh,” with a soft, voiced g/fricative at the end. Stress is on the first syllable of each word.
Use a countable noun and agree the verb in number:
- Singular: bold Mjólkurfernan er á tilboði í dag. bold (The milk carton is on sale today.)
- Plural: bold Mjólkurfernurnar eru á tilboði í dag. bold (The milk cartons are on sale today.)