Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Það er verið að mála vegginn í dag.

Literally it’s “There is been to …,” but functionally it’s an impersonal way to say that something is currently being done. It corresponds to English either as:

“X is being V-ed” (passive progressive), or
“They are V-ing X” (colloquial active with an unspecified ‘they’).

So Það er verið að mála vegginn ≈ “The wall is being painted” / “They’re painting the wall.”

Why is verið used here, and what form is it?

Verið is the past participle (often called the supine form) of vera “to be.” In the fixed construction er verið að + infinitive, it helps form the impersonal progressive (“is being …-ed”). It is not a perfect tense here.

You can change tense with the finite form of vera:

Past: Það var verið að mála vegginn (í gær). “The wall was being painted (yesterday).”
Future-like: Það verður verið að mála vegginn (á morgun). “The wall will be being painted (tomorrow)”—grammatical but stylistically heavy; Icelandic usually rephrases this.

For a completed result, Icelandic prefers a different construction: Það er búið að mála vegginn “The wall has been painted / it’s (now) painted.”

Why is it vegginn (accusative) and not veggurinn (nominative)?

Because Það er verið að … is an impersonal construction that does not promote the object to subject. The object stays in the object case, hence accusative vegginn (“the wall”). Using nominative veggurinn here would be ungrammatical in this pattern.

Note: You may front the object for emphasis while keeping accusative:

Vegginn er verið að mála í dag. “The wall (acc.) is being painted today.”

Is this a passive?

Yes, but specifically an impersonal progressive passive. Contrast:

Impersonal progressive passive: Það er verið að mála vegginn.
Stative/result passive: Veggurinn er málaður. “The wall is painted (in a painted state).”
Canonical agentive passive with “by”: Veggurinn er málaður af málurum. “The wall is painted by painters.”

Can I drop Það or move parts around?

Neutral: Það er verið að mála vegginn í dag.
Topicalize time: Í dag er verið að mála vegginn.
Yes/no question: Er verið að mála vegginn í dag?
News-style (formal): Verið er að mála vegginn í dag.

Don’t make the object nominative in this construction; keep it accusative even if you front it: Vegginn er verið að mála …

How do I make a question or a negative?

Yes/no question: Er verið að mála vegginn í dag?
Negative: Það er ekki verið að mála vegginn í dag.
Negative question: Er ekki verið að mála vegginn í dag?

How would I say it with an explicit agent (who is doing it)?

You can add an agent with af + dative, though Icelandic often prefers an active sentence:

Passive with agent: Það er verið að mála vegginn af málurum / af Jóni.
Active alternative: Málarnir eru að mála vegginn í dag. “The painters are painting the wall today.”

How do I say the same idea in active voice?

Use a subject with vera að + infinitive:

Þau eru að mála vegginn í dag. “They are painting the wall today.” (Use þau for a mixed/unspecified group; þeir for a male group; þær for a female group.)

What does að do here?

Here að is the infinitive marker (like “to” in English) before mála “paint.” It’s not a preposition. In speech, the ð is often weak or dropped: að mála ≈ [aː mála].

Why can’t I say Veggurinn er að vera málaður?

Because er að vera málaður means “is about to be painted,” not “is being painted.” If you want “about to get painted,” you’d use:

Veggurinn er að verða málaður. “The wall is about to be painted.” For “is being painted (right now),” stick with Það er verið að mála vegginn.

What does í dag do and where can it go?

Í dag means “today.” Common positions:

End: Það er verið að mála vegginn í dag.
Fronted: Í dag er verið að mála vegginn.

What does the ending -inn on vegginn mean?

It’s the suffixed definite article “the.”

Indefinite: vegg “a wall” (accusative)
Definite: vegginn “the wall” (accusative) Nominative definite would be veggurinn (“the wall”), but remember this construction needs accusative here.

Could I just say “the wall is painted today” with Veggurinn er málaður í dag?

That sounds like a scheduled event or a state (“the wall is painted (today)” as a plan/result), not an ongoing action. For an action in progress today, use Það er verið að mála vegginn (í dag).

How do I refer to the wall with a pronoun?

Since veggur is masculine, use hann:

Það er verið að mála hann í dag. “He/it (the wall) is being painted today.”

Is this sentence formal or colloquial, and where will I hear it?

It’s neutral and very common in everyday speech and writing. You’ll also hear the news-style variant Verið er að … in reports and announcements.