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Heima setjum við fötin í þvottavélina, því sokkarnir eru skítugir.

Heima setjum við fötin í þvottavélina, því sokkarnir eru skítugir.
At home we put the clothes into the washing machine, because the socks are dirty.
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Questions & Answers about Heima setjum við fötin í þvottavélina, því sokkarnir eru skítugir.

Why does the sentence start with Heima, and why is the verb setjum right after it?

Icelandic strongly follows V2 word order in main clauses: the finite verb (here setjum) tends to come in the second position.
So when you put an adverbial like Heima (at home) first, the verb usually comes next:

  • Heima
    • setjum
      • við ...
        If you start with the subject instead, you can also say:
  • Við setjum fötin í þvottavélina...
Why is it setjum við and not við setjum?

Both are possible, but they appear in different word orders:

  • Við setjum... = subject first (neutral)
  • Heima setjum við... = something else first (Heima), which triggers verb-second, so the subject moves after the verb.
What exactly does heima mean here, and how is it different from heim?

Heima means at home (location).
Heim commonly relates to going home (direction), often with verbs of motion. For example:

  • Ég er heima. = I am at home.
  • Ég fer heim. = I go home.
Why is fötin written with -in at the end?

The -in is the definite article suffix attached to the noun.
föt = clothes (indefinite)
fötin = the clothes (definite)

Also, föt is very commonly used as a plural meaning clothes in general.

What case is fötin, and how can I tell?

In setjum við fötin..., fötin is the direct object, so it’s in the accusative.
But for neuter plural nouns like föt, nominative and accusative often look the same, so you mainly tell from the function (object of the verb).

Why is it í þvottavélina (with -ina) and not í þvottavélinni?

Because í takes different cases depending on meaning:

  • í + accusative = motion/direction into (putting something in)
  • í + dative = location in (already inside)

Here you’re moving the clothes into the machine, so it’s accusative:

  • í þvottavélina = into the washing machine

If you meant “in the washing machine (already there),” you’d use dative:

  • í þvottavélinni
What is the base form of þvottavélina, and what gender is it?

The base form is þvottavél (washing machine), and it’s feminine.
þvottavélina = accusative singular definite (the washing machine, as the object of í with motion).

What does því do here, and is it the same as af því að?

Here því means because/for, introducing a reason:

  • ..., því sokkarnir eru skítugir. = ..., because the socks are dirty.

It’s similar in meaning to af því að, but there’s a grammar difference:

  • því often behaves more like a coordinating connector (more “main-clause-like” word order).
  • af því að introduces a subordinate clause, which more consistently affects word order like other subordinators.
Why is there a comma before því?

In Icelandic writing, it’s common to put a comma before því when it introduces an explanatory/reason clause, similar to English:

  • ... , því ... = ... , because ...
Why is it sokkarnir and not just sokkar?

sokkarnir is definite: the socks. The ending -arnir is the masculine plural definite article attached to sokkar:

  • sokkar = socks
  • sokkarnir = the socks

In context, it often means specific socks (e.g., the ones you’re talking about / the ones you’re washing).

Why does the adjective look like skítugir and not skítugur?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.
sokkarnir is masculine plural nominative, so:

  • skítugur (masc sg nom) → skítugir (masc pl nom)

If it were neuter plural like fötin, you’d get:

  • Fötin eru skítug. (neuter plural form)
What do the letters þ and ð sound like in this sentence?
  • þ (thorn) is like English th in thin. Example: því, þvottavél (at the start).
  • ð (eth) is like English th in this (often softer, and sometimes very light). Example: við, fötin (in related forms; not written with ð here except við).

So því starts with the unvoiced th sound (thin), while við ends with a voiced th-like sound (this).