Discussing historical dates and personal anniversaries requires a few specific prepositions. Here is how you can place events in time using months, seasons, years, and centuries.
Talking About Years
To state the year an event takes place, use the definite noun árið (the year) followed by the numerical year.
| The war starts in the year 1939. | Stríðið byrjar árið 1939. |
| Iceland gains independence in the year 1944. | Ísland fær sjálfstæði árið 1944. |
Months and Celebrations
Use the preposition í to state that something happens in a certain month.
| This is a historical date in October. | Þetta er söguleg dagsetning í október. |
| We celebrate the independence in June. | Við fögnum sjálfstæðinu í júní. |
| They celebrate their wedding anniversary in May. | Þau fagna brúðkaupsafmælinu sínu í maí. |
Events in a Century
When talking about historical events, use the preposition á to say something happens "in" a specific century (öld). To say something is "from" a century, use frá.
| The event is in the ninth century. | Atburðurinn er á níundu öld. |
| The house is from the ninth century. | Húsið er frá níundu öld. |
Seasons and Origins
When talking about seasons, use the preposition í to mean "this [season]" (for example, "this summer" or "this winter").
| We establish the club this summer. | Við stofnum félagið í sumar. |
| We travel abroad this winter. | Við ferðumst til útlanda í vetur. |
The preposition frá is used to state the year something comes from. Because frá dictates the dative case, árið changes to its dative form, árinu.
| The book is from the year 1918. | Bókin er frá árinu 1918. |