Við sendum tjónstilkynninguna að því gefnu að vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér.

It is a fixed expression meaning provided that, assuming that, or on the condition that.

Literally, it is built from the idea of given that, which is why it may feel a bit formal or legal/administrative in tone.

So in this sentence, að því gefnu að vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér means something like:

• provided that the insurance certificate is here
• assuming the insurance certificate is here

It is best learned as one chunk, because the individual words do not map neatly onto natural English word-for-word.

The two instances of að are doing different jobs.

1. The first að is part of the fixed expression að því gefnu að.
2. The second að introduces the subordinate clause: vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Við sendum tjónstilkynninguna
• condition phrase: að því gefnu að ...
• subordinate clause: vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér

Even though it may look repetitive to an English speaker, this is normal in Icelandic.

Sé is the subjunctive form of vera (to be).

After expressions like að því gefnu að, Icelandic often uses the subjunctive because the statement is not being presented as a plain fact. It is a condition, assumption, or requirement.

So:

• er = indicative, more like a straightforward fact: is
• sé = subjunctive, used here because the clause is conditional/assumed

That is why you get:

• að vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér

rather than

• að vátryggingarskírteinið er hér

For learners, a useful takeaway is: að því gefnu að commonly triggers the subjunctive.

It is the definite form of the noun tjónstilkynning, a compound noun.

It breaks down like this:

• tjón = damage, loss, claim-related damage
• tilkynning = notification, report

Together, tjónstilkynning means something like:

• damage report
• claim notification
• loss notification

The ending -una shows that it is:

• singular
• definite = the ...
• accusative

So tjónstilkynninguna means the claim notification / the damage report as the direct object of sendum.

Because it is the accusative singular definite form.

The base noun is:

• tjónstilkynning = a claim notification

Since it is the direct object of sendum (we send), it appears in the accusative:

• indefinite accusative singular: tjónstilkynningu
• definite accusative singular: tjónstilkynninguna

So the ending tells you both:

• the noun is definite: the
• the noun is in the accusative case

This is a very common pattern with feminine nouns in Icelandic.

It is another compound noun.

It can be broken down like this:

• vátrygging = insurance
• skírteini = certificate, document, card

Together:

• vátryggingarskírteini = insurance certificate

The ending -ið makes it definite:

• vátryggingarskírteini = an insurance certificate
• vátryggingarskírteinið = the insurance certificate

This noun is neuter, and in this sentence it is the subject of the subordinate clause:

• vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér = the insurance certificate be/is here

Here it is in the nominative, because it is the grammatical subject of the clause vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér.

In other words, in the subordinate clause:

• vátryggingarskírteinið = subject
• sé = verb
• hér = adverb

So even though the whole sentence contains a lot of dense vocabulary, the inner clause is structurally simple:

• The insurance certificate
  • is/be
    • here

That is why the noun is not accusative here.

Formally, sendum can be either present or past with við.

For senda (to send):

• present: við sendum = we send
• past: við sendum = we sent

So this form is ambiguous by itself.

Usually, the meaning is clear from context. In your sentence, the surrounding style and meaning will tell you whether it means:

• we send or
• we sent

This is a normal feature of Icelandic and not something unusual about this sentence specifically.

Because this subordinate clause has a simple subject–verb–adverb structure:

• vátryggingarskírteinið = subject
• sé = verb
• hér = adverb

So the order is basically:

• the insurance certificate
  • be/is
    • here

That part is actually simpler than the long compounds might make it seem.

What may feel unusual to an English speaker is not the word order itself, but:

• the fixed phrase að því gefnu að
• the subjunctive sé
• the long compound nouns

Literally, hér means here.

But in practical usage, especially in office or administrative language, it can sometimes imply:

• present here
• available here
• on hand
• in our possession / with us

So depending on context, vátryggingarskírteinið sé hér might mean not only physical location, but also that the certificate has been received or is available to process.

The exact nuance depends on the real-world situation.

Yes, it is fairly formal and common in written, administrative, legal, and professional language.

It sounds more formal than a very everyday conditional expression. In English, it is similar in tone to:

• provided that
• on condition that
• assuming that

So this sentence sounds like something from:

• insurance correspondence
• customer service writing
• legal or administrative communication

It is a useful phrase to recognize, even if learners may not use it much in casual conversation at first.

Up to a point, yes, but it is better treated as an idiom.

Very roughly:

• að = at/to/as part of the phrase
• því = that/it in the dative
• gefnu = given
• að = that

So the whole thing has the sense of with that given, that... or given that...

But this literal breakdown is mostly helpful for curiosity. For actual use, the important thing is simply:

• að því gefnu að = provided that / assuming that

The most important things are:

• Við sendum
  1st person plural of senda; context decides whether it is present or past.

• tjónstilkynninguna
  A compound noun in the accusative singular definite, because it is the direct object.

• að því gefnu að
  A fixed expression meaning provided that / assuming that.

• sé
  Subjunctive of vera, used because the clause is conditional/assumed rather than stated as a plain fact.

• vátryggingarskírteinið
  A compound neuter noun in the nominative singular definite, because it is the subject of the subordinate clause.

• hér
  here, sometimes with the practical sense of present/available.

So although the sentence looks difficult because of the long words, the key challenges are really:

• recognizing compound nouns
• noticing case endings
• understanding the fixed phrase
• recognizing the subjunctive