Breakdown of Fundurinn er á fimmtudaginn klukkan hálf tíu.
vera
to be
tíu
ten
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
fundurinn
the meeting
klukkan
the clock
hálfur
half
fimmtudagur
Thursday
Questions & Answers about Fundurinn er á fimmtudaginn klukkan hálf tíu.
Why do we use the accusative form á fimmtudaginn here instead of the dative?
In our current lesson, we learn that á plus the accusative case is used for a specific, upcoming day. Because the meeting is this coming Thursday, we use the accusative definite form fimmtudaginn. If it were a regular weekly meeting, we would use á plus the dative plural: á fimmtudögum.
Wait, does hálf tíu literally mean half ten? Why is the translation half past nine?
Yes, it literally means half ten! In Icelandic, telling time on the half-hour looks ahead to the next hour. So hálf tíu means halfway to ten, which is exactly nine thirty.
Where is the word for the in Fundurinn?
Icelandic attaches the definite article (the word for the) to the end of the noun. The base word is fundur (meeting), and -inn is the masculine suffix for the. Together they make fundurinn.
Why is the word klukkan used before the time?
Klukkan literally means the clock. When you want to say at a specific time in Icelandic, you do not use a preposition like at. Instead, you just place klukkan right before the time.
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