Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.

The family eats together tonight.

Breakdown of Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.

• borða: to eat
• saman: together
• í kvöld: tonight
• fjölskyldan: the family

Questions & Answers about Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.

What does the ending -an in fjölskyldan mean?

The ending -an is the definite article attached to the noun.

• fjölskylda = a family (indefinite)
• fjölskyldan = the family (definite)

In Icelandic, the definite article (the) is usually added as an ending to the noun, instead of being a separate word as in English.

Why is borðar used here, and not borða?

Borða is the verb to eat. In the present tense it changes form depending on the subject:

• ég borða – I eat
• þú borðar – you (singular) eat
• hann/hún/það borðar – he/she/it eats
• við borðum – we eat
• þið borðið – you (plural) eat
• þeir/þær/þau borða – they eat

Fjölskyldan is grammatically third person singular, so it takes the same form as hann/hún/það:

• fjölskyldan borðar – the family eats

But family is a group of people. Why is fjölskyldan treated as singular?

Just like in English, family in Icelandic is grammatically singular, even though it refers to several people.

• English: The family is eating together. (not are in standard English)
• Icelandic: Fjölskyldan borðar saman.

So the verb agrees with the grammatical number (singular), not with how many people the word refers to in reality.

What does saman mean, and where does it go in the sentence?

Saman means together. It is an adverb.

The most natural place for it in this sentence is right after the verb:

• Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.

Other positions are possible in different contexts, but subject – verb – saman – time expression is very typical and sounds natural here.

What does í kvöld literally mean, and why is there no word like “tonight”?

Í kvöld literally means in the evening.

In everyday Icelandic, í kvöld is the normal way to say tonight. So:

• Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.
  ≈ The family is eating together tonight.

There is no single-word equivalent of English tonight; the preposition phrase í kvöld is used instead.

What case is kvöld in, and why does í use that case here?

The noun kvöld (evening) is in the accusative case here.

The preposition í can take either accusative or dative, depending on meaning:

• Accusative often for time or movement into something:
  • í kvöld – this evening / tonight
  • í dag – today
• Dative more for static location:
  • Ég er í skóla. – I am at school.

Since í kvöld is a time expression, the accusative is used.

Why is there no definite ending on kvöld (why not í kvöldinu)?

Time expressions in Icelandic are very often indefinite, even when English uses the or a special word like tonight.

• í kvöld – tonight / this evening
  (literally: in evening, with no article)

Forms like í kvöldinu would sound unusual in this meaning and are generally not used for the simple time phrase tonight.

How would I say My family is eating together tonight?

In Icelandic, possessive pronouns (my, your, his, etc.) usually go after the noun:

• Fjölskyldan mín borðar saman í kvöld.
  • fjölskyldan – the family
  • mín – my (feminine singular, agreeing with fjölskylda)

So you do not say míns fjölskyldan; you put mín after the noun.

How can I say Is the family eating together tonight? as a yes/no question?

For a yes/no question, Icelandic typically inverts the subject and the verb:

• Statement: Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.
• Question: Borðar fjölskyldan saman í kvöld?

So you move borðar in front of fjölskyldan.

Does borðar mean eats, is eating, or will eat?

Icelandic present tense covers several English meanings, depending on context:

• Habitual / general:
  Fjölskyldan borðar saman á kvöldin.
  The family eats together in the evenings.
• Right now / present progressive:
  Fjölskyldan borðar saman núna.
  The family is eating together now.
• Near future / planned (as in your sentence):
  Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld.
  The family is eating together tonight / The family will eat together tonight.

So borðar alone can correspond to eats, is eating, or will eat, depending on the time expression and context.

How would I make it very clear that it is future, like will eat?

You can use a future-like construction with ætla (to intend, to be going to):

• Fjölskyldan ætlar að borða saman í kvöld.
  The family is going to eat together tonight.

The simple present (borðar) is already natural for a planned future, but ætlar að borða emphasizes intention or plan.

How do you pronounce the tricky letters in Fjölskyldan borðar saman í kvöld?

Approximate tips for English speakers:

• fj in fjölskyldan: like fy in few, but said together: fyol-.
• ö in fjöl-: like the vowel in British bird or German ö.
• skyl: the sk before y/i is a bit like sky said quickly, but with a softer k.
• ð in borðar: a soft th sound, like this, never like thing.
• í in í kvöld: a long ee sound, like see.
• kv: close to kv in kvetch, but rounded, with lip rounding at the start of v.
• öld in kvöld: the ö again like British bird, and the ld is pronounced, but quickly.

You do not stress every word equally. The main stresses are on FJÖL-skyldan and BORðar, with saman í kvöld following more lightly.