Á sumrin nota fjörutíu íbúar hjólageymsluna, segir húsvörðurinn.

Yes. Á sumrin is an idiomatic time expression meaning in summer, during the summer, or in the summertime.

A few useful points:

• sumar = summer
• sumrin is the definite plural form, so literally it looks like the summers
• But in Icelandic, this kind of plural expression is often used where English uses singular: in summer

So Á sumrin is best understood as a natural Icelandic way to talk about what happens generally in the summer season.

Because Icelandic often uses the plural definite form for recurring seasons or general seasonal habits.

So:

• á sumrin = in summer / in the summers / during summertime
• It often suggests something habitual or generally true

This is one of those places where Icelandic and English package the idea differently. English prefers singular, while Icelandic very often uses plural.

In this expression, á is used in a time sense, and the phrase is traditionally understood with the accusative.

A helpful detail, though: with sumrin, the nominative and accusative forms look the same, so you cannot see the case difference from the form alone.

So the important takeaway is:

• á can be used in fixed time expressions
• á sumrin is a standard idiomatic phrase
• You should learn it as a whole expression

This is because Icelandic follows the V2 rule in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

Here the sentence begins with the time expression:

• Á sumrin = first element

So the verb must come next:

• Á sumrin nota ...

After that comes the subject:

• fjörutíu íbúar

So the structure is:

• Á sumrin — fronted time phrase
• nota — finite verb in second position
• fjörutíu íbúar — subject
• hjólageymsluna — object

This word order is completely normal in Icelandic.

Because of the sentence structure.

The form nota can indeed look like the infinitive, but here it is the present tense plural form of the verb.

You can tell from context:

• it comes in the finite-verb position after Á sumrin
• it is followed by the subject fjörutíu íbúar
• the whole clause is clearly a complete statement

So here nota means use, not to use.

Because fjörutíu is the number forty, and the noun after it appears in the case required by the sentence.

Here fjörutíu íbúar is the subject, so íbúar is in the nominative plural.

Compare:

• fjörutíu íbúar = forty residents as subject
• ég sé fjörutíu íbúa = I see forty residents as object

So the number itself does not force one single visible noun form here; the noun still changes according to its grammatical role.

The case endings tell you.

• íbúar is nominative plural, which is the normal subject case
• hjólageymsluna is accusative singular definite, which fits the direct object of nota

So even though English relies heavily on word order, Icelandic often makes these roles clearer through case marking.

That is why the sentence can have:

• verb before subject
• subject before object

without becoming unclear.

Because it is:

• singular
• feminine
• definite
• accusative

The base noun is:

• hjólageymsla = bike storage room / bicycle storage area

In this sentence it is the direct object of nota, so it must be in the accusative. The ending shows that it is also definite, meaning the bike storage room rather than just a bike storage room.

So:

• hjólageymsla = an indefinite dictionary form
• hjólageymsluna = the bike storage room as object

Yes. It is a compound:

• hjóla- from hjól = bicycle / wheel
• geymsla = storage, storage room

So hjólageymsla literally means something like bicycle-storage room.

Compound nouns are extremely common in Icelandic, and learning to spot the parts can help a lot with vocabulary.

This is a very common reporting-clause pattern, especially in writing.

• ..., segir húsvörðurinn = ..., says the caretaker

It works much like English journalistic or literary inversion:

• ..., says the caretaker

So the verb-first order here is natural because the clause functions like a reporting tag attached to the statement before it.

It is the noun húsvörður with the definite article attached.

Breakdown:

• húsvörður = caretaker / janitor / building superintendent
• -inn = the

So:

• húsvörður = a caretaker
• húsvörðurinn = the caretaker

In this sentence it is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of segir.

Yes, very much so.

Two things help create that meaning:

• Á sumrin is a general seasonal time expression
• the present tense nota suggests a regular or repeated fact

So the sentence naturally sounds like a general statement about what happens in summer, not just a one-time event.