Breakdown of Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir ömmu mína.
Questions & Answers about Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir ömmu mína.
Þ is a separate Icelandic letter called thorn. It represents the unvoiced th sound, like in English thing or think.
- Þetta is pronounced roughly: [THET-ta]
- Þ = th as in think
- e as in bed
- double tt is a short, strong t sound
- kvöld is roughly: [kveld]
- kv like kv in kvell (if that existed), very close to kv
- ö is like the vowel in British bird or German ö in schön
- ld here is pronounced close to lt or a clipped ld depending on accent
Together: Þetta kvöld ≈ [THET-ta kvelt].
Icelandic demonstratives agree in gender, number, and case with the noun:
- kvöld (evening) is neuter singular in the nominative.
- The nominative singular forms of this are:
- masculine: þessi
- feminine: þessi
- neuter: þetta
Since kvöld is neuter, you must use Þetta kvöld.
Þessi kvöld would be these evenings (plural), because kvöld is also the plural form, but then the demonstrative would normally change too (often þessi kvöld meaning these evenings in context). Here we are clearly talking about one specific evening, so Þetta kvöld is correct.
The adjective sérstakur (special) must agree with the noun kvöld in gender, number, and case.
- Base forms (nominative singular, strong):
- masculine: sérstakur
- feminine: sérstök
- neuter: sérstakt
Because kvöld is neuter singular nominative, the correct form is sérstakt.
So:
- Þetta kvöld er sérstakt = This evening is special.
- If the noun were masculine, e.g. dagur (day):
- Þessi dagur er sérstakur.
- If it were feminine, e.g. stund (moment):
- Þessi stund er sérstök.
The phrase ömmu mína is in the accusative singular.
The base noun is amma (grandmother):
- nominative: amma
- accusative: ömmu
- dative: ömmu
- genitive: ömmu
So just from ömmu, you cannot see whether it is accusative or dative, because those two forms are identical.
However, the possessive adjective mín (my) shows the case clearly:
Feminine singular of mín:
- nominative: mín
- accusative: mína
- dative: minni
- genitive: minnar
In ömmu mína, the form mína is accusative feminine singular, so the whole phrase is accusative.
The preposition fyrir here takes the accusative when it means for (the benefit of), so fyrir ömmu mína = for my grandmother in the accusative.
You cannot drop fyrir here.
- fyrir is the preposition that carries the meaning for (the benefit of / from the perspective of).
- Without fyrir, ömmu mína would just sit there after the adjective and the sentence would be ungrammatical and unclear.
Correct:
- Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir ömmu mína.
= This evening is special for my grandmother.
Incorrect / ungrammatical:
- Þetta kvöld er sérstakt ömmu mína. ✗
So fyrir is essential to express the for relationship.
In Icelandic, possessive adjectives like mín usually come after the noun when the phrase has a definite or very specific meaning, especially with close family members:
- ömmu mína = my (particular) grandmother
Putting the possessive before the noun is possible but often sounds more emphatic, contrastive, or marked, and in many everyday contexts it feels less natural.
Compare:
- Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir ömmu mína.
– very natural, for my grandmother. - Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir mína ömmu.
– grammatically possible, but sounds more like for my grandmother (as opposed to someone else’s), or just a bit odd/stiff in normal conversation.
So the default, neutral choice is fyrir ömmu mína.
You are right: fyrir can govern either accusative or dative, depending on meaning and context.
Very roughly:
- Accusative:
- for (someone’s benefit)
- before (a point in time)
- across / through / past (movement)
- Dative:
- in front of / before (in someone’s presence / position)
- some more static or figurative uses
In Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir ömmu mína, the sense is clearly for (the benefit of / from the point of view of) my grandmother, so fyrir takes the accusative.
As shown earlier, we see this from mína (accusative), not from ömmu (which looks the same in acc. and dat.).
Yes, you can say fyrir ömmu in some contexts, but the meaning changes slightly and it relies more on context.
- fyrir ömmu mína
– clearly for my grandmother (specific: mine). - fyrir ömmu
– more like for grandma, assuming it is already clear which grandma you mean (e.g. within the family).
In English we often say:
- This evening is special for Grandma.
without my, and context tells you whose grandma that is.
Icelandic works similarly: fyrir ömmu is idiomatic if everyone knows which grandmother you are talking about. But if you need to be explicit (e.g. my grandmother, not yours), use fyrir ömmu mína.
Icelandic does not use a separate word for the like English. Instead, definiteness is usually marked with a definite ending or with a demonstrative like þessi / þetta.
- kvöld on its own can mean evening or night, depending on context.
- Þetta kvöld is literally this evening / this night, and which English word you choose depends on context and style.
Since Þetta already specifies this, there is no extra article needed. You would not say something like Þetta the kvöld.
er is the present tense form of the verb vera (to be) that is used with all singular and plural persons in the simple present in the 3rd person.
Present indicative of vera:
- ég er – I am
- þú ert – you are (singular)
- hann / hún / það er – he / she / it is
- við erum – we are
- þið eruð – you are (plural)
- þeir / þær / þau eru – they are
In our sentence:
- Subject: Þetta kvöld (this evening)
- Correct form: er → Þetta kvöld er sérstakt.
So er here corresponds to English is.
Yes, that word order is grammatically correct. Icelandic word order is relatively flexible, especially for emphasis.
- Þetta kvöld er sérstakt fyrir ömmu mína.
– neutral, natural order: focusing first on this evening. - Fyrir ömmu mína er þetta kvöld sérstakt.
– still correct, but now the sentence starts by highlighting for my grandmother. It can feel slightly more emphatic or stylistic, as if you’re contrasting her perspective with someone else’s.
Both versions are fine; the original is the most typical neutral word order in everyday speech.