Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig áður en hann fer út. - He puts on a dark jacket before he goes out.

á sig is reflexive: it refers back to the subject of the same clause.
- Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig.
  → He puts a dark coat on himself. (the subject hann is doing something to himself)
á hann would usually refer to another male person, not the subject:
- Hann setur dökka úlpu á hann.
  → He puts a dark coat on him (some other guy).

So here, because he is putting the coat on himself, Icelandic uses the reflexive pronoun sig, not the regular pronoun hann.

What tense are setur and fer, and which verbs are they from?

setur is present tense, 3rd person singular of setja (to put, place).
- ég set
- þú setur
- hann/hún/það setur
fer is present tense, 3rd person singular of fara (to go).
- ég fer
- þú ferð
- hann/hún/það fer

So the whole sentence is in the present tense, even if in English you might translate it with a kind of habitual sense:
Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig áður en hann fer út.
→ He puts on a dark coat before he goes out.

Why is it dökka úlpu and not just dökk úlpa?

This is about adjective agreement and case.

The base forms are:
- dökkur (dark) – an adjective
- úlpa (coat / parka) – a feminine noun

In the sentence:

Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig.

The verb setja (to put) takes its direct object in the accusative case.

úlpa in the accusative singular feminine is úlpu.
The adjective dökkur must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case:
- nominative fem. sg.: dökk úlpa
- accusative fem. sg.: dökka úlpu

So dökka úlpu is exactly “dark coat” in the accusative feminine singular, matching the role of direct object.

What gender is úlpa, and how does it decline?

Úlpa is feminine.

Singular (most relevant forms):

Nominative: úlpa (this is the “dictionary form”)
Accusative: úlpu
Dative: úlpu
Genitive: úlpu

In our sentence, it’s the direct object of setja, so it’s in the accusative: úlpu.

Is “setja á sig” a fixed expression for “to put on (clothes)”?

Yes, pretty much.

setja [föt] á sig = to put [clothes] on (oneself)
- Hann setur úlpu á sig.
  → He puts on a coat.
- Ég set hattinn á mig.
  → I put my hat on.

The pattern is:

setja + [clothing item in accusative] + á + [reflexive pronoun in accusative]

The reflexive pronoun changes with person:

á mig (myself)
á þig (yourself, singular)
á sig (himself/herself/itself/themselves, when referring to the subject)
á okkur (ourselves)
á ykkur (yourselves)

So yes, setja á sig is the natural way to say “put on (clothing)”.

Could you also use klæðast instead of setja á sig here?

You can, but the meaning and focus change slightly.

setja úlpu á sig → to put on a coat (focus on the action of putting it on right now)
klæðast úlpu (dative) → to wear a coat (more about what you are wearing, not the act of putting it on)

So:

Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig áður en hann fer út.
→ He puts on a dark coat before he goes out. (describes the sequence of actions)
Hann klæðist dökkri úlpu þegar hann fer út.
→ He wears a dark coat when he goes out. (describes his typical clothing)

They’re not interchangeable in all contexts; here, setur … á sig matches the idea of “puts on” better.

Why is the verb second in the main clause (Hann setur …) but not second in áður en hann fer út?

This shows the difference between main clauses and subordinate clauses in Icelandic word order.

Main clause (independent sentence)
- Icelandic is a V2 language: the finite verb is in second position.
- Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig.
  - 1st slot: Hann (subject)
  - 2nd slot: setur (finite verb)
  - then: dökka úlpu á sig
Subordinate clause with “áður en”
- In subordinate clauses, the verb is not required to be second; typical order is Subject–Verb–Object/Adverbials (like English).
- áður en hann fer út
  - Subordinator: áður en
  - Subject: hann
  - Verb: fer
  - Adverb: út

So you see V2 in the main clause, but more “English-like” SVO order in the subordinate clause.

Why is hann repeated in the second clause? Could I say “áður en fer út”?

In standard Icelandic, you normally do not drop the subject pronoun in subordinate clauses like that.

Correct / natural:
- áður en hann fer út – before he goes out
Odd / ungrammatical in standard language:
- ✗ áður en fer út (with no subject)

Unlike some languages, Icelandic doesn’t freely omit subject pronouns when they are “obvious” from context; you usually need to state the subject again, even if it’s the same person as before.

What is the difference between út and úti? Why is it út here?

Icelandic distinguishes between motion (to/from) and location (at):

út = out(wards), direction / motion
úti = outside, location / state

In the sentence:

Hann fer út.
→ He goes out (he moves from inside to outside).

If you want to say he is outside, you use úti:

Hann er úti.
→ He is outside.

Because fara (to go) implies movement, út is the correct form.

What exactly does áður en mean, and how is it used grammatically?

áður en means “before” when it introduces a clause (a full sentence with a verb).

Structure: áður en + [clause with a finite verb]
- Hann setur úlpu á sig áður en hann fer út.
  → He puts on a coat before he goes out.

Compare:

áður alone is an adverb:
- Hann fer út áður. → He goes out earlier/before(wards). (a bit vague on before what?)
áður en is a subordinating conjunction:
- Needs a subject + verb after it:
  - áður en hann fer út – before he goes out
  - áður en þú ferð – before you go

So in this sentence, áður en is correctly followed by a full clause, hann fer út.

How would the sentence change if the subject were “we” instead of “he”?

You need to change:

the subject pronoun
the verb forms
the reflexive pronoun

Original:

Hann setur dökka úlpu á sig áður en hann fer út.

With “we”:

Við setjum dökka úlpu á okkur áður en við förum út.
- við setjum (we put)
- á okkur (on ourselves)
- við förum (we go)

And if there is more than one coat (e.g., each of us has one):

Við setjum dökkar úlpur á okkur áður en við förum út.
- døkkar úlpur = plural (dark coats)

Can hann fer út also mean “he leaves” (general), or only literally “goes outside”?

hann fer út is primarily literal: he goes out / goes outside (from inside to outside).

However, in context, fer út can sometimes be used more loosely for “going out” socially:

Hann fer oft út um helgar.
→ He often goes out on weekends. (could mean going out to bars, parties, etc.)

For a more general “leave (a place)” without the nuance of inside→outside, other expressions are common:

Hann fer (he goes / leaves – context needed)
Hann fer heim (he goes home)
Hann fer frá vinnu (he leaves work)

But in isolation, hann fer út is best understood as “he goes outside / goes out”.

How would this sentence look in the past tense?

Put both verbs into past tense:

setur → setti (past, 3rd singular of setja)
fer → fór (past, 3rd singular of fara)

Result:

Hann setti dökka úlpu á sig áður en hann fór út.
→ He put on a dark coat before he went out.