Dagsetningin er á eyðublaðinu.

to be

Breakdown of Dagsetningin er á eyðublaðinu.

• á: on
• eyðublaðið: the form
• dagsetningin: the date

Questions & Answers about Dagsetningin er á eyðublaðinu.

Why does dagsetningin have -in at the end?

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun (a “suffix article”).

• dagsetning = a date (indefinite)
• dagsetningin = the date (definite)
  The ending -in is the definite article for many feminine nouns in the nominative singular.

What gender is dagsetning, and how can I tell?

dagsetning is feminine (kvenkyn). You mostly learn gender with the word, but there are clues:

• Many nouns ending in -ing are feminine (not always, but common).
  A good habit is to memorize the nominative singular + the article form: dagsetning – dagsetningin.

Why is it er and not something else?

er is the 3rd person singular present tense of að vera (to be).
You use er with singular subjects like dagsetningin (the date).
Plural would be eru (e.g., Dagsetningarnar eru... = The dates are...).

Why do we use á here? Would í also work?

á often corresponds to English on (surface/contact) and is commonly used for information being on a document/page/form: á eyðublaðinu = on the form.
í is more like in (inside/within). For a form, Icelandic typically treats it like a surface/document, so á is the natural choice.

Why is it á eyðublaðinu (with that ending) and not á eyðublaðið?

The preposition á usually takes:

• dative for location (where something is)
• accusative for movement (to/onto something)

Here it’s location (is on), so á + dative:

• eyðublað (indefinite nominative/accusative)
• eyðublaðinu = dative singular definite (on the form)

What is the base form of eyðublaðinu, and what’s its gender?

The base form is eyðublað (form, blank form), and it’s neuter (hvorugkyn).
The form in the sentence is:

• eyðublaðinu = dative singular definite of eyðublað

What does the -inu ending in eyðublaðinu represent?

It combines case + definiteness for a neuter noun in the dative singular:

• -i marks dative singular (common for neuter nouns)
• -nu is part of the attached definite article in this case
  So eyðublaðinu literally means something like “the form” in the specific grammatical shape needed after á (location).

Is the word order fixed? Could I move things around?

The neutral word order is Subject–Verb–Prepositional phrase:

• Dagsetningin er á eyðublaðinu.

You can move the location phrase for emphasis/topic:

• Á eyðublaðinu er dagsetningin. (On the form is the date.)
  This is grammatical, just a different emphasis.

How would I negate this sentence?

You usually negate with ekki placed after the verb:

• Dagsetningin er ekki á eyðublaðinu. = The date is not on the form.

How would I turn this into a yes/no question?

Icelandic typically forms yes/no questions by putting the verb first:

• Er dagsetningin á eyðublaðinu? = Is the date on the form?