Báðar koma í kvöld.

Báðar means both, but specifically for two feminine people or things.

So this sentence is understood as something like Both of them are coming tonight, where them refers to two feminine nouns or two women/girls.

Because báðir changes form to match gender, number, and case.

Here it is:

• plural
• nominative
• feminine

The nominative plural forms are:

• báðir = masculine
• báðar = feminine
• bæði = neuter

So if the two people are women, or the two things are represented by a feminine noun, báðar is the correct form.

Yes, in a sense.

Icelandic often allows a word like báðar to stand on its own as the subject, without adding a separate pronoun. So Báðar koma í kvöld is a complete sentence.

In English, we usually need to say Both are coming tonight or They are both coming tonight. In Icelandic, báðar can do that job by itself.

Because the subject is plural: báðar = both, meaning two people/things.

The verb koma is the present plural form of koma = to come.

Compare:

• Hún kemur = She comes / is coming
• Þær koma = They come / are coming
• Báðar koma = Both come / are coming

So the plural verb matches the plural subject.

It is in the nominative plural feminine.

That is because it is the subject of the sentence, and subjects are usually in the nominative in Icelandic.

So:

• báðar = nominative plural feminine
• used as the subject of koma

Because it is not necessary.

Icelandic can say:

• Báðar koma í kvöld. = Both are coming tonight.
• Þær koma báðar í kvöld. = They are both coming tonight.

Both are possible, but the first version is shorter and very natural when the meaning is clear from context.

Grammatically, koma is in the present tense, but the sentence refers to the future because of the time expression í kvöld.

This is very common in Icelandic, just as in English:

• They come tonight can mean a future event in some contexts
• Icelandic does this very naturally with the present tense

So Báðar koma í kvöld means something like Both are coming tonight or Both will come tonight, depending on context.

Literally, í kvöld means in evening / this evening / tonight.

It is a fixed time expression:

• í dag = today
• í kvöld = tonight / this evening
• í nótt = tonight / during the night

In this sentence, í kvöld is best understood as tonight.

Yes, but the meaning and emphasis may shift a little.

For example:

• Báðar koma í kvöld. = Both are coming tonight.
• Þær koma báðar í kvöld. = They are both coming tonight.
• Í kvöld koma báðar. = Tonight, both are coming.

Icelandic word order is more flexible than English, but not random. The original sentence sounds natural and straightforward.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Báðar ≈ BOW-thar
• koma ≈ KOH-ma
• í kvöld ≈ ee KVELT

A few useful notes:

• á sounds like ow in cow
• ð is like the th in this
• kvöld ends with a clear lt sound

This is only an approximation, but it is a helpful starting point.

Yes.

It can refer to:

• two women/girls
• two feminine nouns

For example, if you were talking about two feminine nouns such as particular objects, ideas, or institutions, báðar could still be correct, as long as the nouns are grammatically feminine.

So the form depends on grammatical gender, not only on biological sex.

The dictionary form is usually given as báðir.

That is the masculine nominative plural form, but dictionaries often list adjectives and pronoun-like words under one standard form. From that base form, you learn the other forms:

• báðir = masculine plural nominative
• báðar = feminine plural nominative
• bæði = neuter plural nominative

So when you see báðar, you should connect it back to the word báðir meaning both.

Not exactly.

Bæði is the neuter form, so it would only be correct if the two things referred to were neuter plural.

So:

• Báðar koma í kvöld = both feminine
• Báðir koma í kvöld = both masculine
• Bæði koma í kvöld = both neuter

You have to choose the form that matches the gender of what you are talking about.