Ég ætla að samþykkja boðið í kvöld.

Ætla að + infinitive is a very common Icelandic pattern meaning to intend to, to be going to, or sometimes simply will in a planned sense.

So Ég ætla að samþykkja means:

• I intend to accept
• I’m going to accept

It usually suggests a plan, decision, or intention rather than a completely neutral future.

After ætla, Icelandic normally uses að + infinitive.

So:

• ætla að fara = intend to go
• ætla að borða = intend to eat
• ætla að samþykkja = intend to accept

Here, að is the infinitive marker, similar to English to in to accept.

Samþykkja is the infinitive form of the verb, meaning to accept or to approve.

In this sentence, it stays in the infinitive because it comes after ætla að.

A rough breakdown is:

• ég ætla = I intend / I’m going to
• að samþykkja = to accept

So only ætla is conjugated here; samþykkja is not.

Boðið is the definite form of boð.

• boð = offer / invitation
• boðið = the offer / the invitation

Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

So:

• ég samþykki boð = I accept an offer / invitation
• ég samþykki boðið = I accept the offer / invitation

Boðið is the direct object of samþykkja, so it is in the accusative case.

The verb samþykkja normally takes an accusative object.

In this particular noun, boð is a neuter noun, and the nominative and accusative singular definite forms are both boðið, so the form looks the same either way.

That means the case is understood from the sentence structure and the verb, not from a visibly different ending.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Boð is a flexible word that can refer to:

• an offer
• an invitation
• sometimes even a message or instructions, in other contexts

So boðið could mean the offer or the invitation. Since you said the meaning is already shown to the learner, the context would tell you which one is intended here.

Í kvöld means tonight.

Literally, it is something like in evening / this evening, but as a fixed expression it is just used the way English uses tonight.

This is a very common Icelandic time expression, similar to:

• í dag = today
• í morgun = this morning
• í kvöld = tonight

So in the sentence, it tells you when the speaker intends to accept the offer.

Many Icelandic time expressions use í in a fixed way.

For example:

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

This is something you mostly learn as a set expression. It does not map perfectly onto English preposition use, so it is best to memorize í kvöld as a whole phrase.

Yes. Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, especially with time expressions.

The original sentence is:

• Ég ætla að samþykkja boðið í kvöld.

But you could also say:

• Í kvöld ætla ég að samþykkja boðið.

That puts more emphasis on tonight.

Notice that when í kvöld comes first, the finite verb ætla still stays in second position:

• Í kvöld
  • ætla
    • ég ...

This is a very important Icelandic word-order pattern.

Normally, Icelandic does not drop subject pronouns the way Spanish or Italian often can.

So you usually say:

• Ég ætla ... = I intend ...
• Þú ætlar ... = you intend ...

The pronoun ég is normally required unless the context is very special, such as informal notes, diary style, or highly marked speech.

This sentence has both of Icelandic’s famous special consonants:

• þ in samþykkja
• ð in boðið

A helpful English approximation:

• þ is like th in thin
• ð is like th in this

So:

• samþykkja has the thin-type sound
• boðið has the this-type sound

These are only rough English approximations, but they are a good start.

Yes, ætla is a word many learners stumble over.

A rough guide:

• æ sounds somewhat like i in ice or a in cat depending on accent and how precise you want to be
• tl in Icelandic often has a special pronunciation that may not sound like a simple English t+l
• the whole word is often approximated for learners as something like EYE-tla or AIHT-la, though native pronunciation is more distinctively Icelandic

The most important thing at first is to recognize it quickly as the very common verb to intend / be going to.

Usually it is closer to I am going to accept or I intend to accept.

If you say:

• Ég ætla að samþykkja boðið í kvöld

it sounds like there is already a plan or decision.

English I will accept the offer tonight can sometimes sound more like a spontaneous promise or simple future statement. Icelandic ætla að usually carries a bit more intention.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

For example:

• Ég samþykki boðið í kvöld.

This can mean I accept/am accepting the offer tonight, but it does not express intention in quite the same way. It can sound more direct, more immediate, or more like a statement of fact depending on context.

Using ætla að makes the idea of intention or plan clearer.

The structure is:

• Ég = subject
• ætla = finite verb
• að samþykkja = infinitive phrase
• boðið = direct object
• í kvöld = time expression

So the sentence is built like:

Subject + finite verb + infinitive phrase + object + time expression

That is a very common and useful Icelandic pattern.