Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma.

Set is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb að setja meaning to put / to place / to set.

So:

• að setja = the infinitive, to put
• ég set = I put / I am putting

This is similar to English to come vs I come.

Ég means I and it is the subject of the sentence.

Icelandic usually states the subject explicitly, just like English does in normal sentences. So:

• Ég set ... = I put ...

You normally cannot just leave out ég the way you can in some languages.

Servíettur is the plural direct object here, meaning napkins.

The verb setja takes a direct object, and in Icelandic that object is usually in the accusative case. In this sentence, servíettur is the accusative plural form.

So the rough grammar is:

• ég = subject
• set = verb
• servíettur = direct object, in the accusative plural

A learner often notices that plural noun forms can vary by case, and this is one of those examples.

This is a very common Icelandic question, because á can go with different cases depending on meaning.

Here, á borðið uses the accusative because it expresses movement toward a destination: the napkins are being put onto the table.

Compare:

• á borðið = onto the table / to the table surface
• á borðinu = on the table in the sense of already located there

So:

• Ég set servíettur á borðið = I put napkins onto the table
• Servíetturnar eru á borðinu = The napkins are on the table

A useful rule of thumb is:

• movement/change of location → often accusative
• static location → often dative

The -ið is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually adds the to the end of the word instead of using a separate word like English.

So:

• borð = table
• borðið = the table

Because borð is a neuter noun, the definite form here ends in -ið.

Áður en means before in the sense of introducing a clause:

• áður en gestirnir koma = before the guests arrive / come

It links the main clause and the time clause:

• Ég set servíettur á borðið = main clause
• áður en gestirnir koma = subordinate time clause

This is very similar to English before the guests come/arrive.

Gestirnir means the guests.

It is made from:

• gestir = guests
• -nir = the definite ending, giving the guests

It is also in the nominative plural, because it is the subject of koma.

So in this clause:

• gestirnir = the subject
• koma = the verb

Because the subject is plural: gestirnir = the guests.

The present tense of að koma is:

• ég kem = I come
• þú kemur = you come
• hann/hún/það kemur = he/she/it comes
• við komum = we come
• þið komið = you come
• þeir/þær/þau koma = they come

Since gestirnir is they, the correct form is koma.

This is very natural in Icelandic. The present tense is often used for future events, especially when the time is clear from context.

So Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma can mean something like:

• I put napkins on the table before the guests come
• I’ll put napkins on the table before the guests arrive

This is especially common in time clauses such as:

• áður en = before
• þegar = when
• eftir að = after

English does something similar in clauses like before the guests arrive, where we often use present tense instead of will arrive.

Yes, but it changes the feel of the sentence.

• Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma is more neutral and can describe a routine, a plan, or a normal action.
• Ég er að setja servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma emphasizes that the action is in progress or happening right now.

So the original sentence is often the more natural choice unless you specifically want to stress I am in the middle of putting them down.

Yes. Icelandic word order is flexible, but there are rules.

The original sentence is perfectly normal:

• Ég set servíettur á borðið áður en gestirnir koma.

You can also front the time clause:

• Áður en gestirnir koma set ég servíettur á borðið.

Notice what happens there: once the time clause comes first, the verb set comes before the subject ég in the main clause. That is because Icelandic follows a verb-second pattern in main clauses.

So this is correct:

• Áður en gestirnir koma set ég ...

Not:

• Áður en gestirnir koma ég set ...

Yes. Servíetta is a normal Icelandic word for napkin, and it is a loanword. Icelandic does have many native-looking words, but it also uses some borrowed words, especially for everyday objects.

A learner may notice that loanwords still behave like Icelandic nouns: they take Icelandic endings for number, case, and definiteness.

So even though servíetta looks non-native, it still fits into Icelandic grammar.

The main clause is the part that could stand on its own as a full sentence:

• Ég set servíettur á borðið.

The subordinate clause is introduced by áður en and depends on the main clause:

• áður en gestirnir koma

It gives the time of the action.

So the structure is:

• Main clause: Ég set servíettur á borðið
• Subordinate clause: áður en gestirnir koma

A rough pronunciation guide for áður is something like OW-thur or OW-dhur, but the exact sound is not quite like English.

A few useful notes:

• á is like ow in now
• ð is a voiced sound somewhat like th in this, though Icelandic pronunciation can vary by position
• u in -ur is reduced and not stressed

A rough learner-friendly version of the whole phrase is:

• áður en ≈ OW-thur en

That said, listening to native audio is especially helpful for this word.

This one sentence teaches several very useful Icelandic patterns:

• Present tense verb forms: ég set, gestirnir koma
• Direct object in the accusative: servíettur
• Definite article attached to the noun: borðið, gestirnir
• Preposition + case difference with movement vs location: á borðið vs á borðinu
• Time clause with áður en
• Present tense used for future meaning
• Verb-second word order if the clause order is changed

So it is actually a very rich example sentence for beginners.