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Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Partíið er í kvöld. - The party is tonight.

Hardcore Icelandic
/Lesson 28
/Partíið er í kvöld.

Partíið er í kvöld.

Word

Partíið er í kvöld.

Meaning

The party is tonight.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Hardcore Icelandic

Lesson

Breakdown of Partíið er í kvöld.

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Questions & Answers about Partíið er í kvöld.

Why does Partíið end in -ið? Is that like the English word the?

Yes. In Icelandic, the definite article (the) is usually attached to the end of the noun, instead of standing in front of it as a separate word.

partí = a party (indefinite)
partíið = the party (definite)

For neuter nouns ending in a vowel (like partí), the definite ending is -ið.

So Partíið er í kvöld specifically means The party is tonight, not just A party is tonight.

What gender is partí, and does that matter here?

Partí is a neuter noun (borrowed from English party).

The gender matters because it determines:

Which article ending you add:
- masculine: -inn (e.g. stóllinn – the chair)
- feminine: -in (e.g. bókin – the book)
- neuter: -ið (e.g. partíið – the party)
Which forms of adjectives and pronouns it would take (not shown in this sentence, but important later).

In this specific sentence, the neuter gender shows up in the definite ending -ið in partíið.

Could you break down each word in Partíið er í kvöld grammatically?

Partíið
- base form: partí (neuter noun, a party)
- - -ið: definite article suffix (the)
- case: nominative (subject of the sentence)
er
- present tense, 3rd person singular of vera (to be)
- functions like is in English
í
- preposition, usually in or into, but with time expressions it often corresponds to this or on (as in this evening/on Monday)
kvöld
- neuter noun kvöld = evening
- in the idiom í kvöld it means tonight
- form here is accusative singular, but neuter nominative and accusative look the same.

Why is present tense er used for a future event? Why not something like will be?

Icelandic often uses the present tense to talk about future events that are scheduled or clearly planned. So:

Partíið er í kvöld.
literally: The party is this evening.
natural English: The party is tonight. or The party is this evening.

This is very similar to English examples like:

The train leaves at six.
My exam is tomorrow.

You can also say Partíið verður í kvöld (using verða, to become/happen), which emphasizes more that the event will take place tonight, but for a simple, matter‑of‑fact statement about a scheduled event, er is completely normal.

What does í kvöld literally mean, and is there a separate word for tonight?

Literally, í kvöld means in the evening or this evening, but in practice it is the standard way to say tonight.

There is no single-word equivalent of English tonight in standard Icelandic. Instead you use:

í kvöld = tonight / this evening

Similarly:

í gærkvöldi = last night (yesterday evening)

Why is there no article before kvöld in í kvöld? Why not something like í kvöldinu?

In many time expressions, Icelandic does not use the definite article, even when English would say the or this. For example:

í kvöld – tonight / this evening
í gær – yesterday (literally in yesterday)
í morgun – this morning
á morgun – tomorrow

Using a definite article like í kvöldinu would sound wrong or at least very unusual in normal speech; í kvöld by itself already has the meaning tonight.

What case is kvöld in here, and why doesn’t it change form?

After the preposition í, the case depends on the meaning:

í
- accusative: movement into something (into, onto, to)
í
- dative: location in something (in, inside, at)

Time expressions with í (like í kvöld, í gær) are commonly treated as accusative.

Kvöld is a neuter noun whose nominative and accusative singular forms are the same: kvöld. So even though the case here is (functionally) accusative, the word looks identical to the nominative, which is why you don’t see a visible change.

Can the word order change? Can I say Í kvöld er partíið?

Yes, you can change the word order:

Partíið er í kvöld.
Í kvöld er partíið.

Both are grammatically correct.

The neutral, most common order for this kind of statement is Partíið er í kvöld. Moving Í kvöld to the front gives it extra emphasis, roughly like saying in English:

Tonight, the party is (taking place).

So you’d front Í kvöld when you especially want to highlight when the party is.

Is there a difference between Partíið er í kvöld and Það er partí í kvöld?

Yes, mainly in definiteness:

Partíið er í kvöld.
- the party (a specific, known party)
- There is an assumption that speaker and listener both know which party is being talked about.
Það er partí í kvöld.
- a party (some party, not necessarily specified)
- literally: There is a party tonight.

Use Partíið er í kvöld when the party has already been mentioned or is otherwise clear from context; use Það er partí í kvöld to introduce the existence of a party.

How do I pronounce Partíið er í kvöld?

Approximate pronunciation in IPA and with rough English hints:

Partíið – /ˈpʰar.tiː.ðɪð/
- p is aspirated (a bit of puff of air)
- stress on the first syllable: PAR-tí-ið
- í is a long ee sound /iː/
- ð is like the th in this, but often quite soft and may be barely audible, especially at the end
er – /ɛr/
- like air, but shorter and tenser
í – /iː/
- long ee sound
kvöld – roughly /kʰvœlt/ or /kʰvœld/ depending on speaker
- kv is like kv in kvetch
- ö /œ/ is somewhat like the vowel in British bird, but with rounded lips
- final ld can sound a bit like lt in many accents.

Stress in Icelandic is basically always on the first syllable of a word, so: PAR-tí-ið er í KVÖLD.

Does í here mean in or at? How should I think of this preposition?

The basic meaning of í is in / into, but with time expressions, it often corresponds to English this / on / in depending on context.

In í kvöld:

literal-ish: in (this) evening
natural English: tonight

So when í is used with days or times, think of it as forming a fixed idiomatic time expression rather than translating it word-for-word as in.

Is partí a native Icelandic word? Are there other options?

Partí is a loanword from English party and is very common in modern Icelandic.

You might also encounter:

veisla – a more traditional Icelandic word, usually meaning feast, banquet, celebration (often a bit more formal or elaborate than a casual party).

So:

Partíið er í kvöld. – The (casual) party is tonight.
Veislan er í kvöld. – The feast/banquet is tonight.

In everyday speech about casual social gatherings, partí (and therefore partíið) is extremely common.

Could you show the basic forms (singular) of partí and kvöld?

Both are neuter nouns, and for many neuter nouns in Icelandic, the nominative and accusative are identical, and the genitive and dative are often identical as well. (There are different paradigms, but this is a very common pattern.)

Very simplified singular paradigms:

partí (neuter):

nominative: partí – a party
accusative: partí
dative: partí
genitive: partís

Definite singular (just nominative for reference):

partíið – the party

kvöld (neuter):

nominative: kvöld – evening
accusative: kvöld
dative: kvöldi
genitive: kvölds

In Partíið er í kvöld, you see:

partíið – nominative definite, as the subject
kvöld – accusative in the idiom í kvöld.

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