Í kvöld fær afmælisbarnið gjöf.

Tonight the birthday person gets a gift.

Breakdown of Í kvöld fær afmælisbarnið gjöf.

• í kvöld: tonight
• fá: to get
• afmælisbarnið: the birthday person
• gjöfin: the gift

Questions & Answers about Í kvöld fær afmælisbarnið gjöf.

Why does the sentence start with Í kvöld (Tonight)? Does that change the word order?

Yes. Í kvöld is an adverbial time phrase placed first for emphasis/topic. Icelandic is a V2 (verb-second) language in main clauses: when something other than the subject comes first, the finite verb typically comes next.
So after Í kvöld, the verb fær comes immediately, and the subject afmælisbarnið follows:
Í kvöld + fær + afmælisbarnið + gjöf.
If you start with the subject instead, you’d normally get: Afmælisbarnið fær gjöf í kvöld.

What case is kvöld in, and why?

In Í kvöld, kvöld is in the accusative singular. With í, Icelandic uses:

• accusative for direction/movement or for some fixed time expressions (like this one),
• dative for location (being in/at a place).
  Í kvöld is a very common fixed expression meaning tonight, and it uses accusative.

What exactly is afmælisbarnið made of? Why is it such a long word?

It’s a compound with a genitive:

• afmæli = birthday
• afmælis- = genitive form used in compounds/possession-like relations (roughly “birthday’s”)
• barn = child
• -ið = definite article attached to the noun (the)
  So afmælisbarnið literally corresponds to the birthday child (i.e., the person whose birthday it is).

Why is the not a separate word in Icelandic? What is -ið?

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually a suffix added to the noun:

• barn = child
• barnið = the child
  In this sentence, afmælisbarnið already contains the definite article -ið. Icelandic can also use a separate demonstrative-like word (þetta/það) for “this/that,” but the normal “the” is typically suffixed.

What form is fær? What verb is it from?

fær is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of the verb fá (“to get/receive”).
Present tense of fá (common forms):

• ég fæ (I get)
• þú færð (you get)
• hann/hún/það fær (he/she/it gets)

Is afmælisbarnið the subject even though it comes after the verb?

Yes. Word order doesn’t decide subjecthood in Icelandic as strictly as in English. Here, afmælisbarnið is the subject because it’s the doer/receiver of the verb fær (“gets/receives”) and it’s in the nominative case.
The inversion (fær afmælisbarnið) happens because Í kvöld is in first position (V2 rule).

What case is gjöf, and why?

gjöf is the direct object of fær, so it’s in the accusative singular (the basic object case for many verbs).
Dictionary form is gjöf (feminine). In this sentence it looks the same in nominative and accusative singular, but grammatically it’s functioning as accusative object.

Why is there no word for a (as in “a gift”)?

Icelandic has no separate indefinite article equivalent to English a/an. A bare noun like gjöf can mean “a gift” depending on context.
If you want to specify “one gift,” you can use eina gjöf (one gift) or other determiners.

Could I also say Í kvöld fær afmælisbarnið gjöfina? What changes?

Yes. gjöfina would be the gift (definite object), using the suffixed definite article:

• gjöf = a gift
• gjöfin = the gift (nominative)
• gjöfina = the gift (accusative)
  So Í kvöld fær afmælisbarnið gjöfina would imply a specific, known gift.

How do I pronounce Í kvöld fær afmælisbarnið gjöf (roughly)?

A rough guide (not perfect IPA):

• Í: like ee (long)
• kvöld: roughly kvœlt (the ö is like a rounded vowel, and ld often sounds like lt)
• fær: like fire but with a more open vowel (Icelandic æ is similar to “eye”)
• afmælisbarnið: stress on first syllable: AF-mæ-lis-bar-nith (final ð is a soft “th” sound)
• gjöf: roughly gyuv (Icelandic gj is a palatal sound; ö is rounded)
  Main stress in Icelandic is almost always on the first syllable of a word.