Þvottavélin er orðin gömul, en hún virkar ennþá vel.

Þvottavélin = þvotta- (washing/laundry, related to þvottur) + vél (machine) + -in (the definite article attached to the noun).

• vél is a feminine noun meaning machine.
• vélin means the machine.
• þvottavélin means the washing machine (literally the laundry-machine).

Because er orðin is a common Icelandic way to express “has become”:

• vera (er) + past participle of verða (orðin) ≈ has become / has gotten.

So Þvottavélin er orðin gömul is not just “is old” as a static description; it suggests a change over time: it has become old.

orðin is the past participle of the verb verða (to become). You’ll often meet it in this pattern:

• X er orðinn/orðin/orðið Y = X has become Y

It agrees with the subject Þvottavélin, which is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the participle takes the feminine singular nominative form:

• masculine: orðinn
• feminine: orðin
• neuter: orðið
• plural: orðnir / orðnar / orðin (depending on gender)

Adjectives also agree with the noun they describe. The base adjective is gamall (old), but it changes by gender/number/case.

With Þvottavélin (feminine singular nominative), you use:

• masculine: gamall
• feminine: gömul
• neuter: gamalt

So: Þvottavélin er ... gömul.

In Icelandic, the usual way to say “the X” is to attach the article to the end of the noun:

• þvottavél = a washing machine
• þvottavélin = the washing machine

You can also use a separate determiner like hin, but that’s more stylistic/emphatic and not the default here.

Icelandic generally requires an explicit subject in each finite clause, just like English:

• Clause 1: Þvottavélin er orðin gömul
• Clause 2: en hún virkar ennþá vel

Using hún avoids repeating the full noun and clearly marks the new clause.

Because þvottavél is a feminine noun, and Icelandic pronouns usually follow grammatical gender, not “real-world” gender. So:

• feminine noun → hún
• masculine noun → hann
• neuter noun → það

In English we’d normally say it, but Icelandic uses the noun’s grammatical gender.

virkar means “works / functions”.

• Dictionary form (infinitive): virka
• Present tense: ég virka, þú virkar, hún/það virkar, etc.

Here it means the machine still functions properly.

Both can mean “still”, but:

• ennþá is very common for “still” in the sense of continuing up to now.
• enn can also mean still, but it’s often used in other senses too (like even, or yet more), depending on context.

In this sentence, ennþá is a straightforward “still.”

vel is an adverb meaning “well” (it modifies the verb virkar). Adverb placement in Icelandic is flexible, but verb + adverbs at the end is very natural:

• hún virkar ennþá vel = it still works well

You can sometimes move adverbs for emphasis, but this order is neutral and common.

It’s standard (and usually expected) to put a comma before en when it connects two independent clauses:

• Þvottavélin er orðin gömul, en hún virkar ennþá vel.

This matches the idea: “..., but ...” with a full clause on each side.

You typically negate with ekki, usually after the verb:

• ... en hún virkar ennþá ekki vel. = ... but it still doesn’t work well. Or, if you mean it works but not well:
• ... en hún virkar ennþá ekki nógu vel. = ... but it still doesn’t work well enough.