Rafvirkinn kemur í dag til að skoða rofann í eldhúsinu.

Because Icelandic usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun.

• rafvirki = an electrician
• rafvirkinn = the electrician

In this sentence, rafvirkinn is also the subject, so it is in the nominative singular. The full form is:

• rafvirki → indefinite
• rafvirkinn → definite, nominative singular

So Rafvirkinn kemur means The electrician is coming.

Because rofann is the accusative singular definite form.

The verb skoða means to look at / inspect / examine, and it takes a direct object in the accusative case. The thing being inspected is the switch, so rofi changes form:

• rofi = a switch
• rofann = the switch, as a direct object

So:

• að skoða rofann = to inspect the switch

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic: the noun changes form depending on its role in the sentence.

Because í can take either the accusative or the dative, depending on meaning.

With location (being somewhere), í takes the dative. With motion into something, í takes the accusative.

Here, the switch is located in the kitchen, so Icelandic uses the dative:

• eldhús = kitchen
• eldhúsinu = the kitchen, dative singular definite

So:

• í eldhúsinu = in the kitchen

Compare:

• Ég er í eldhúsinu. = I am in the kitchen.
• Ég fer í eldhúsið. = I go into the kitchen.

Til að means in order to or simply to, when expressing purpose.

So:

• kemur í dag til að skoða rofann = is coming today to inspect the switch

It tells you why the electrician is coming.

This is a very common structure in Icelandic:

• Hún fór út til að hlaupa. = She went out to run.
• Ég kom hingað til að hjálpa. = I came here to help.

Sometimes Icelandic uses just að with an infinitive, but til að is especially common when the meaning is clearly purpose.

In this sentence, til að skoða sounds natural because it means:

• for the purpose of inspecting
• in order to inspect

So til að helps make the intention very clear.

Kemur is the 3rd person singular present tense of koma = to come.

The subject is rafvirkinn = the electrician, which is he/she/it grammatically, so Icelandic uses the 3rd person singular form:

• ég kem = I come
• þú kemur = you come
• hann/hún/það kemur = he/she/it comes

So:

• Rafvirkinn kemur í dag. = The electrician is coming today.

Like English, Icelandic often uses the present tense for a planned near-future event.

Yes. Icelandic often uses the simple present where English prefers a present progressive.

So kemur í dag literally looks like comes today, but in natural English it is often translated as:

• is coming today

This is normal and does not mean the Icelandic is strange or incomplete.

Because Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, but this placement is very natural.

The basic structure here is:

• Rafvirkinn = subject
• kemur = verb
• í dag = time expression
• til að skoða rofann í eldhúsinu = purpose phrase

So the sentence flows as:

• The electrician comes today to inspect the switch in the kitchen.

Time expressions like í dag often come after the verb, but they can also move for emphasis:

• Í dag kemur rafvirkinn... = Today the electrician is coming...
• Rafvirkinn kemur í dag... = The electrician is coming today...

Both are possible; the difference is mainly emphasis.

Here are the basic dictionary forms:

• rafvirkinn → rafvirki = electrician
• kemur → koma = to come
• í dag = today
• skoða = to inspect, examine, look at
• rofann → rofi = switch
• eldhúsinu → eldhús = kitchen

This is useful because Icelandic words often appear in changed forms in real sentences.

Not necessarily. Rofi can mean switch, but depending on context it can also refer to an electrical switch, breaker, or similar device.

In a household sentence like this, rofann í eldhúsinu would usually be understood as some kind of electrical switch or fitting in the kitchen. The exact English word can depend on context.

So if the meaning shown to the learner says switch, that is a good translation, but the Icelandic word itself can be slightly broader.

The noun rafvirki is grammatically masculine.

One clue is the definite nominative singular form:

• masculine nouns often take -inn
• neuter nouns often take -ið
• feminine nouns often take -in

So:

• rafvirkinn strongly suggests a masculine noun

But in practice, the safest way is to learn nouns with gender from the start, because Icelandic gender affects articles, adjective forms, and case endings.

A rough guide for English speakers:

• raf sounds roughly like rahv
• vir sounds a bit like vir
• kinn sounds like kin with a long n

Very roughly: RAHV-vir-kinn

A few useful notes:

• v is pronounced like English v
• r is trilled or tapped, not the English r
• double nn affects the sound and length, so the ending is firmer than a single n

If you are learning pronunciation, it is best to listen to native audio, because Icelandic stress and consonants matter a lot.

Yes, to some extent. Icelandic allows different word orders, especially to highlight time or focus.

For example:

• Rafvirkinn kemur í dag til að skoða rofann í eldhúsinu.
• Í dag kemur rafvirkinn til að skoða rofann í eldhúsinu.

Both are natural.

However, Icelandic still follows important word-order rules, especially the tendency for the finite verb to appear early in the sentence. So not every rearrangement will sound natural.

Because Icelandic normally expresses the by attaching it to the noun as a suffix.

Examples from this sentence:

• rafvirki → rafvirkinn = the electrician
• rofi → rofann = the switch
• eldhús → eldhúsinu = the kitchen

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Instead of learning the as a separate word, you learn how the noun changes.

A useful breakdown is:

• Rafvirkinn = subject
• kemur = finite verb
• í dag = time expression
• til að skoða rofann í eldhúsinu = purpose phrase

Inside the purpose phrase:

• skoða = infinitive
• rofann = direct object of skoða
• í eldhúsinu = prepositional phrase describing where the switch is

So the sentence is built very logically:

subject + verb + time + purpose + object + location