The Genitive of Time with Snemma and Síðla
To describe events that happen "early in" or "late in" a season or time of day, use the adverbs snemma (early) and síðla (late) followed by the time period in the genitive case.
Common genitive forms for time periods include:
- vor (spring) becomes vors
- haust (autumn) becomes hausts
- vetur (winter) becomes vetrar
- dagur (day) becomes dags
| The lambing always starts early in the spring. | Sauðburðurinn byrjar alltaf snemma vors. |
| The farmer shears the sheep and sells the wool late in the winter. | Bóndinn rýr kindurnar og selur ullina síðla vetrar. |
| The sheep round-ups are late in the autumn and we look forward to them a lot. | Réttirnar eru síðla hausts og við hlökkum mikið til þeirra. |
Mid-Season Expressions
For the middle of a season, Icelandic combines mið- (mid-) with the genitive form to create a fixed adverb indicating "in the middle of" that season:
- miðsumars (in midsummer)
- miðsvetrar (in midwinter — note the connecting s)
| The farmer is busy in midwinter, isn't he? | Bóndinn er annasamur miðsvetrar, er það ekki? |
| When does the haymaking start? It usually starts in midsummer. | Hvenær byrjar slátturinn? Hann byrjar venjulega miðsumars. |
| It is cold in midwinter, so the sheep need the wool. | Það er kalt miðsvetrar, svo kindurnar þurfa ullina. |
Recurring Times of Day
The genitive can also be used without an adverb to express a habitual or recurring time, such as doing chores "morning and evening" (morguns og kvölds).
| We prepare for the lambing, but the farm chores are many morning and evening. | Við undirbúum sauðburðinn en sveitaverkin eru mörg morguns og kvölds. |
| The sheep round-ups are fun, but everybody is tired late in the day. | Réttirnar eru skemmtilegar en allir eru þreyttir síðla dags. |
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