Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Þó að hún sé þreytt í kvöld, heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku. - Although she is tired tonight, she continues to study Icelandic.

The conjunction þó að (even though / although) normally triggers the subjunctive mood in Icelandic, because it introduces something that is contrary to what you might expect (a concessive clause).

hún er þreytt = she is tired (simple statement, indicative)
þó að hún sé þreytt = even though she is tired (subjunctive after þó að)

So in clauses introduced by þó að you should expect subjunctive forms like:

ég sé, þú sért, hann/hún sé, við séum, þið séuð, þeir/þær/þau séu

What exactly does þó að mean, and can I leave out að?

Þó að means roughly even though, although, or though.

In everyday Icelandic, it’s very common to drop the að here:

Þó að hún sé þreytt í kvöld, heldur hún áfram…
Þó hún sé þreytt í kvöld, heldur hún áfram…

Both are correct. Þó (or þótt) is the key word; að is optional in this structure and doesn’t change the meaning.

Could I also use þótt instead of þó að? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can. Þó, þótt, and þó að are closely related.

In this sentence you could say:

Þó að hún sé þreytt í kvöld…
Þó hún sé þreytt í kvöld…
Þótt hún sé þreytt í kvöld…

All are acceptable and very similar in meaning: although / even though she is tired tonight.

Nuances of style or register exist, but for a learner, you can treat them as more or less interchangeable in this kind of concessive clause.

Why is it í kvöld and not something like á kvöldinu?

Í kvöld is a fixed time expression meaning tonight / this evening.

í
- kvöld (evening) = this evening, tonight (specific, one time)
á kvöldin = in the evenings (habitually, on evenings in general)

So:

Hún er þreytt í kvöld = She is tired tonight (this specific evening).
Hún er oft þreytt á kvöldin = She is often tired in the evenings (in general).

Using á kvöldinu here would be odd; it would sound like a specific evening already known in context, and it’s not the idiomatic way to say “tonight”.

Where can í kvöld go in the sentence? Does its position matter?

Time expressions are fairly flexible in Icelandic, but common, natural placements include:

Þó að hún sé þreytt í kvöld, heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku.
Þó að hún sé þreytt, heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku í kvöld.
Í kvöld, þó að hún sé þreytt, heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku. (more marked/emphatic)

All are grammatically fine. The version you have is very natural: the time phrase sits inside the þó að clause, specifying when she is tired.

What does heldur áfram literally mean, and how does this construction work?

Halda áfram is a verb phrase meaning to continue, literally something like "hold on / keep going".

halda = to hold, to keep, to continue
áfram = onward, on, forward

In the sentence:

heldur = 3rd person singular present of halda
áfram = adverb attached to the verb

So hún heldur áfram að læra íslensku = she continues to learn Icelandic / she keeps on learning Icelandic.

Structure:

[subject] + heldur áfram + að + [infinitive]
- Hún heldur áfram að læra.
- Hann heldur áfram að vinna. (He continues working.)
- Þau halda áfram að tala. (They keep talking.)

Why do we need að before læra?

Here að is the infinitive marker, like “to” in English:

að læra = to learn
að borða = to eat
að sofa = to sleep

After halda áfram, when you follow it with a verb in the infinitive, you must use að:

Hún heldur áfram að læra. (correct)
Hún heldur áfram læra. (incorrect)

So the pattern is halda áfram + að + infinitive.

Why is it íslensku and not íslenska?

Íslenska is a feminine noun, and læra (to learn) takes its object in the accusative case.

The forms of íslenska (singular) are:

Nominative: íslenska
Accusative: íslensku
Dative: íslensku
Genitive: íslensku

Because íslenska is the object of læra, we need the accusative:

að læra íslensku = to learn Icelandic

That’s why you see íslensku here, not íslenska.

Is íslensku here “Icelandic (language)” or “Icelandic (adjective)”?

Here íslensku is a noun in the accusative, meaning the Icelandic language.

(að) læra íslensku = to learn Icelandic (the language)

The adjective íslenskur/íslensk/íslenskt (Icelandic) would look different and would need a noun:

íslensk bók = an Icelandic book
íslensk kona = an Icelandic woman

In the sentence you have, there’s no following noun, so it must be the noun íslenska = Icelandic (language), in the accusative form íslensku.

Why is there a comma after the þó að clause?

The sentence has two parts:

Þó að hún sé þreytt í kvöld – subordinate clause (although she is tired tonight)
heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku – main clause (she continues to learn Icelandic)

When the subordinate clause comes first, Icelandic usually separates it from the main clause with a comma.

If you reverse the order, you typically don’t put a comma:

Hún heldur áfram að læra íslensku þó að hún sé þreytt í kvöld.

So the comma marks the boundary between the “although” part and the main statement.

Could I say this another way without þó að, but with a similar meaning?

Yes. Some common alternatives expressing a similar idea:

Þrátt fyrir að hún sé þreytt í kvöld, heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku.
(In spite of the fact that she is tired tonight…)
Hún er þreytt í kvöld, en hún heldur samt áfram að læra íslensku.
(She is tired tonight, but she still continues learning Icelandic.)
Hún er þreytt í kvöld, en samt heldur hún áfram að læra íslensku.

All of these emphasize that being tired does not stop her from studying—just like your original sentence.

How are þó and þreytt pronounced, especially the letter þ?

The letter þ represents the unvoiced th sound, like th in “thing” (not like this).

Approximate pronunciations:

þó – like “thoh”, with a long ó (similar to English “go”, but tenser and longer).
þreytt – roughly “threyt”:
- þr- like thr in “three”
- ey like “ei” in “vein”
- final -tt is a tense, double t sound.

So the initial þ in both words is the same th sound as in thing.