Ég ætla að ryksuga íbúðina mína í kvöld.

I am going to vacuum my apartment tonight.

Breakdown of Ég ætla að ryksuga íbúðina mína í kvöld.

• ég: I
• ætla: to plan
• í kvöld: tonight
• íbúðin: the apartment
• ryksuga: to vacuum
• mína: my

Questions & Answers about Ég ætla að ryksuga íbúðina mína í kvöld.

Why does ætla use að + the infinitive (ryksuga)?

In Icelandic, a common way to talk about intentions or plans is að ætla að + infinitive, literally “to intend to + verb.”
So Ég ætla að ryksuga... = “I’m going to vacuum...” (intention/plan).
The að here is an infinitive marker, similar in function to English to in “to vacuum,” but it’s used differently across verbs.

Does Ég ætla að... always mean “I am going to...” (future), or can it mean something else?

It most often expresses intention (“I plan to / I’m going to”). Depending on context, it can also sound like:

• I intend to...
• I’m about to... (if something is imminent) It’s not a pure grammatical future tense; it’s more about the speaker’s plan/decision.

What kind of verb is ryksuga? Is it one word, and how is it used?

Ryksuga is the verb to vacuum. It’s written as one word in modern Icelandic and behaves like a regular verb in the infinitive here.
In the sentence, it appears as an infinitive after að: að ryksuga = “to vacuum.”

Why is it íbúðina and not íbúð or íbúðin?

Because it’s the direct object of the verb ryksuga (“vacuum what?”), it’s in the accusative case.

• íbúð = indefinite nominative (basic dictionary form)
• íbúðin = definite nominative (“the apartment” as a subject)
• íbúðina = definite accusative (“the apartment” as an object)

So ryksuga íbúðina = “vacuum the apartment.”

How do I know íbúðina is feminine, and does that affect anything here?

Íbúð is feminine, and that affects:

• the form of the definite ending (-in/-ina, etc.)
• the form of adjectives/possessives that agree with it

Here, femininity is part of why you get íbúðina (feminine accusative definite) and why the possessive is mína (feminine accusative).

Why is it mína and not mín or mitt?

Possessives in Icelandic agree with the noun they modify in gender, number, and case.
The noun phrase here is íbúðina = feminine, singular, accusative, definite. So the possessive must match:

• masculine: mín / minn / mínum etc. (depending on case)
• neuter: mitt (etc.)
• feminine accusative singular: mína

So íbúðina mína = “my apartment” (as an object).

Why is the possessive placed after the noun: íbúðina mína? Can it go before?

Putting the possessive after a definite noun is very common and natural in Icelandic: íbúðina mína.
You can also place it before in some contexts, but it often changes the feel/structure and may require different definiteness patterns. The “noun + possessive” pattern is a safe, idiomatic choice for learners.

What does í kvöld literally mean, and why is it í?

Kvöld means evening, and í kvöld means this evening / tonight (depending on context).
The preposition í is used in Icelandic with many time expressions (roughly like English “in/on/at” depending on phrase). Í kvöld is simply the standard idiom.

Is í kvöld the same as í nótt? When would I use each?

Not exactly:

• í kvöld = “this evening / tonight (as in the evening hours)”
• í nótt = “tonight (during the night),” i.e., late night / overnight

If you mean you’ll vacuum during the evening, í kvöld is the normal choice.

What’s the basic word order here, and can it change?

The sentence follows common Icelandic word order:

• Ég (subject)
• ætla (finite verb)
• að ryksuga (infinitive phrase)
• íbúðina mína (object)
• í kvöld (time)

Word order can shift for emphasis (especially moving time expressions earlier), but you generally keep the finite verb in the second position in main clauses (the V2 tendency).

How would I make it negative: “I’m not going to vacuum my apartment tonight”?

You typically place ekki after the finite verb:

• Ég ætla ekki að ryksuga íbúðina mína í kvöld.

That’s the standard, neutral negation.

How do I pronounce Ég and the accented vowels like á and ú?

A practical approximation for many learners:

• Ég: often sounds like yeh(g), with a “y” glide; the final g can be soft or barely audible depending on speaker and context.
• á: like ow in “now” (but Icelandic is crisper)
• ú: like oo in “food”

Also, Icelandic stress is usually on the first syllable: RYK-suga, Í-búð-in-a, Í KVÖLD.