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Það er rafmagnsleysi aftur í kvöld, en við finnum allavega kerti og eldspýtur.

Það er rafmagnsleysi aftur í kvöld, en við finnum allavega kerti og eldspýtur.
There is a power outage again tonight, but we at least find a candle and matches.
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Questions & Answers about Það er rafmagnsleysi aftur í kvöld, en við finnum allavega kerti og eldspýtur.

Why does the sentence start with Það er ...? What does það refer to?

Það er ... is a very common Icelandic way to introduce statements about a situation, similar to English There is/There’s .... Here það is a “dummy” subject (it doesn’t refer to a specific thing), and the real information comes after the verb: rafmagnsleysi (a power outage / lack of electricity).

What exactly is rafmagnsleysi grammatically?

rafmagnsleysi is a compound noun:

  • rafmagn = electricity
  • -leysi = lack/absence (a common noun-forming ending)

So it literally means lack of electricity. It’s treated as a neuter noun in Icelandic.

Why is it rafmagnsleysi and not something with an article like rafmagnsleysi-ð?

Icelandic often leaves nouns indefinite when describing a general situation, especially after Það er ...:

  • Það er rafmagnsleysi. = There is a power outage / There’s no electricity (situation-focused)

If you said Það er rafmagnsleysi-ð, it would sound like the specific outage previously known/identified (more context-dependent).

What does aftur í kvöld mean, and why is the order like that?

aftur = again
í kvöld = tonight (literally in (the) evening)

The adverb aftur commonly comes before the time phrase: again tonight. Icelandic is flexible, but aftur í kvöld is very natural.

Why is it í kvöld and not í kvöldi or í kvöldinu?

í kvöld is an idiomatic fixed expression meaning tonight. Even though í usually takes the dative, some time expressions are “frozen” in a particular form.
So you learn í kvöld as a chunk (like í dag = today, í nótt = tonight/at night).

What is the function of en here?

en means but. It connects two clauses that contrast:

  • Clause 1: there’s a power outage again tonight
  • Clause 2: we’ll find candles and matches anyway

So en signals: “bad situation, but we have a workaround.”

Why is there a comma before en?

In Icelandic, it’s standard to use a comma before coordinating conjunctions like en when they join two independent clauses (each could stand as its own sentence):

  • Það er rafmagnsleysi aftur í kvöld, en ...
    Both parts have their own verb, so the comma is expected.
What tense is finnum, and why is present tense used?

finnum is present tense, 1st person plural of finna (to find):

  • ég finn
  • þú finnur
  • við finnum

Icelandic present tense often covers near-future meaning too, depending on context. So it can mean we find / we’ll find / we can find, and the intended meaning comes from the situation.

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

allavega means anyway / at least. It commonly appears:

  • after the subject: við finnum allavega ...
  • or earlier for emphasis: Allavega finnum við ... (more emphasis on “anyway”)

In your sentence, it softens the problem: “even if there’s an outage, at least we can manage.”

Why is it kerti (not something like kertin) and what number is it?

kerti is a neuter noun meaning candle. The form kerti can be:

  • singular: one candle
  • plural: candles (neuter plurals often look like the singular)

Here it’s understood as plural because it’s paired with another plural item (eldspýtur) and the context suggests “some candles and matches.”

Why is it eldspýtur and not eldspýtur-nar?

eldspýtur is indefinite plural of eldspýta (a match; literally “fire-stick”).
Using the definite form eldspýturnar would mean the matches (specific ones). The sentence is talking about finding some matches, so indefinite is natural.

What case are kerti and eldspýtur in, and why?

They are the direct objects of the verb finna (to find), so they are in the accusative:

  • finna takes an accusative object
  • kerti (accusative plural) looks the same as nominative for this noun
  • eldspýtur is accusative plural (and also looks the same as nominative plural for this word)

So the objects appear in the forms you see because of how finna governs its object.