Hugbúnaðurinn er uppfærður núna.

The software is updated now.

Breakdown of Hugbúnaðurinn er uppfærður núna.

• vera: to be
• núna: now
• hugbúnaðurinn: the software
• uppfærður: updated

Questions & Answers about Hugbúnaðurinn er uppfærður núna.

Why does the word hugbúnaðurinn end in -inn?

Icelandic attaches the definite article to the end of the noun.

• hugbúnaður = software (indefinite)
• hugbúnaðurinn = the software (definite) Here it’s nominative singular definite because it’s the subject (“the software”).

What gender is hugbúnaður, and why does that matter for uppfærður?

Hugbúnaður is masculine. The past participle used as an adjective must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Since the subject is masculine nominative singular, you use the masculine nominative singular form uppfærður.

Why not uppfært or uppfærð?

Those are other agreement forms of the same participle:

• uppfærður = masculine singular (e.g., Hugbúnaðurinn er uppfærður)
• uppfærð = feminine singular or neuter plural (e.g., Útgáfan er uppfærð; Forritin eru uppfærð)
• uppfært = neuter singular (e.g., Forritið er uppfært)

Is er uppfærður a passive?

It’s the “stative passive” (copula + past participle). It describes a state: “is updated / is up to date.” If you want to emphasize the action that happened, use an eventive passive like hefur verið uppfærður (“has been updated”) or var uppfærður (“was updated”).

How do I say “is being updated (right now)”?

Use the progressive-like construction:

• Impersonal passive: Það er verið að uppfæra hugbúnaðinn (núna). (“They/one are updating the software now.”)
• Middle voice (the software updates itself/is in the process): Hugbúnaðurinn er að uppfærast (núna).

What’s the difference between er uppfærður, hefur verið uppfærður, and var uppfærður?

• er uppfærður: current state (is up to date).
• hefur verið uppfærður: present perfect; an update happened before now and is relevant now (“has been updated”).
• var uppfærður: simple past; focuses on a past event (“was updated [at some time]”).

Where can núna go in the sentence?

All are fine, with slight emphasis differences:

• Hugbúnaðurinn er uppfærður núna. (neutral, common)
• Hugbúnaðurinn er núna uppfærður. (focus on the “now” in the middle)
• Núna er hugbúnaðurinn uppfærður. (fronted time adverb; remember Icelandic V2: the verb er must be the second element)

What’s the difference between nú and núna?

Both can mean “now.”

• núna is very common and neutral in everyday speech.
• nú is shorter, also common, and can also serve as a discourse particle (“well, now…”). In this sentence either works: … nú or … núna.

What’s the base verb behind uppfærður, and how is it conjugated?

The verb is uppfæra (“to update”).

• Present: ég uppfæri, þú uppfærir, hann/hún/það uppfærir, við uppfærum, þið uppfærið, þeir/þær/þau uppfæra
• Past: ég uppfærði (and similarly for other persons)
• Supine (used with “have”): uppfært (e.g., hefur uppfært)
• Past participle (adjectival): uppfærður/uppfærð/uppfært (agreeing with the noun)

What case is used here, and why?

• Hugbúnaðurinn is nominative because it’s the subject.
• uppfærður (the predicate adjective/participle) is also nominative, agreeing with the subject after the copula er (“to be”). Icelandic typically uses nominative on both sides of “to be.”

How would this sentence change with different noun genders or number?

• Neuter singular: Forritið er uppfært núna. (“The program is updated now.”)
• Feminine singular: Útgáfan er uppfærð núna. (“The edition/version is updated now.”)
• Masculine plural: Þjónarnir eru uppfærðir núna. (“The servers are updated now.”)
• Feminine plural: Stillingarnar eru uppfærðar núna.
• Neuter plural: Forritin eru uppfærð núna.

Can I put the adjective before the noun to say “the updated software”?

Yes. With a definite noun, the attributive adjective takes the weak ending:

• Uppfærði hugbúnaðurinn (the updated software) … Indefinite would use the strong form:
• uppfærður hugbúnaður (updated software [some/any])

Is hugbúnaður countable? Can I say it in the plural?

In practice, hugbúnaður is usually treated as a mass noun (“software”) and rarely pluralized. To talk about multiple items, Icelandic typically uses count nouns like forrit (“programs/apps”), kerfi (“systems”), or compounds like hugbúnaðarpakkar (“software packages”).

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• Stress the first syllable of each word: HUG-bú-nað-ur-inn | ER | UPP-færð-ur | NÚ-na.
• ú is like long “oo” in “food.”
• æ is like “eye.”
• ð (in uppfærður, hugbúnaðurinn) is the voiced “th” in “this.”
• The r is trilled/tapped. Double consonants (like pp) are held a bit longer.