Breakdown of Mætir gesturinn klukkan korter í tíu?
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
tíu
ten
gesturinn
the guest (m)
klukkan
the clock
Questions & Answers about Mætir gesturinn klukkan korter í tíu?
Why do we use í in korter í tíu to mean "a quarter to ten"?
While í usually means "in" or "into", when telling time it is used to mean "to" the next hour. Think of korter í tíu as "a quarter into ten". If you wanted to say "a quarter past ten", you would use yfir (over/past): korter yfir tíu.
Why does the sentence start with the verb Mætir?
In Icelandic, you swap the subject and the verb to ask a yes/no question. Since a regular statement is Gesturinn mætir... (The guest shows up...), the question becomes Mætir gesturinn...? (Shows up the guest...?). You do not need a helper word like "Is" or "Does" like you do in English.
I see the word for "guest", but what is the -inn on the end of gesturinn?
That is the definite article (the word "the"). In Icelandic, "the" is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word. Gestur means "a guest", and adding the masculine ending -inn makes it gesturinn ("the guest").
Do I always have to say klukkan before the time?
Yes, usually. When you want to say "at [a certain time]" in Icelandic, you say klukkan (which literally means "the clock") followed by the time. So "at a quarter to ten" is translated as klukkan korter í tíu.