Ég hef ekki tíma núna.

Word by word:

• Ég = I
• hef = have
• ekki = not
• tíma = time
• núna = now / right now

So the sentence is literally I have not time now, which matches natural English I don’t have time right now.

Hafa is the infinitive, meaning to have.

In the sentence, the verb is conjugated for ég (I), so it becomes:

• ég hef = I have
• þú hefur = you have
• hann/hún/það hefur = he/she/it has

So hef is simply the 1st person singular present tense form of hafa.

Because hafa normally takes a direct object in the accusative case, and tími changes form in the accusative singular:

• nominative: tími
• accusative: tíma

So:

• tími = time as a dictionary form / subject form
• tíma = time as the object in this sentence

That is why Icelandic says Ég hef tíma or Ég hef ekki tíma, not Ég hef ekki tími.

In Icelandic, sentence negation with ekki usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• Ég hef ekki tíma. = I do not have time.

This is different from English, where we use do not before the main verb.

A useful basic pattern is:

• subject + finite verb + ekki + ...

Examples:

• Ég skil ekki. = I do not understand.
• Hún kemur ekki. = She is not coming / She does not come.

They are very close in meaning.

• nú = now
• núna = now / right now

In many everyday situations, nú and núna can both work, but núna often sounds a bit more conversational or a bit more like right now.

So all of these are possible, depending on tone and context:

• Ég hef ekki tíma núna.
• Ég hef ekki tíma nú.

The version with núna is very natural in speech.

Yes. In normal use, Ég hef ekki tíma núna strongly suggests a temporary, current situation: I don’t have time right now.

It does not usually mean a general life statement like I never have time. If you wanted a more general meaning, the context would usually make that clear, or you might say something else.

So this sentence is best understood as:

• I’m busy right now
• I don’t have time at the moment

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• Ég ≈ yegg with a y sound at the start
• hef ≈ hev
• ekki ≈ ehk-ki
• tíma ≈ tee-ma
• núna ≈ noo-na

A very rough full approximation: Yegg hev ehk-ki tee-ma noo-na

A few notes:

• é in ég is pronounced like ye
• í in tíma is a long ee
• ú in núna is a long oo

Usually, no. Icelandic normally keeps the subject pronoun in a sentence like this.

So the standard form is:

• Ég hef ekki tíma núna.

Because Icelandic verbs do change by person, learners sometimes expect pronouns to be optional, but in ordinary modern Icelandic, the subject pronoun is generally still expressed.

No. Icelandic does not make this sentence with a helper like do, and it does not use an English-style contraction here.

English:

• I do not have time
• I don’t have time

Icelandic:

• Ég hef ekki tíma

So Icelandic simply uses the main verb hef and adds ekki for negation.

Usually, no, not for this meaning.

For having time available, Icelandic normally uses hafa tíma:

• Ég hef tíma. = I have time.
• Ég hef ekki tíma. = I don’t have time.

The verb eiga often means own or have in other senses, but hafa tíma is the normal expression for available time.

So Ég hef ekki tíma núna is the natural choice.

You can soften it by adding a polite phrase or explanation. For example:

• Því miður hef ég ekki tíma núna. = Unfortunately, I don’t have time right now.
• Ég hef því miður ekki tíma núna. = I’m sorry, I don’t have time right now.
• Ég hef ekki tíma núna, en kannski seinna. = I don’t have time right now, but maybe later.

So the original sentence is perfectly correct, but it can sound a bit direct on its own, just like in English.