Fjarstýringin er ekki á borðinu; hún er líklega á milli sófans og mottunnar.

Fjarstýringin means the remote control.

The base noun is fjarstýring = remote control. The ending -in is the definite article attached to the noun, so fjarstýringin = the remote control.

This is very common in Icelandic: instead of putting a separate word like the in front, Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

In Icelandic, the is usually not a separate word. It is usually added to the noun as an ending.

So in this sentence:

• fjarstýringin = the remote control
• borðinu = the table (in a case form)
• sófans = the sofa (in a case form)
• mottunnar = the rug/mat (in a case form)

Because Icelandic nouns change form for case, gender, and number, the definite ending does not always look the same.

Because fjarstýring is a feminine noun in Icelandic.

In Icelandic, pronouns agree with grammatical gender, not with whether something is actually biologically female or male. So an inanimate object can still be referred to as:

• hann if the noun is masculine
• hún if the noun is feminine
• það if the noun is neuter

Since fjarstýring is feminine, the sentence uses hún.

Because in a normal Icelandic main clause, the finite verb usually comes early in the sentence, typically in second position.

So:

• Fjarstýringin er ekki á borðinu

has the natural order:

• subject: Fjarstýringin
• verb: er
• negation: ekki

This is a very normal Icelandic pattern. English learners often want to put ekki earlier, but er ekki is the standard order here.

Because á can take different cases depending on meaning.

Here, á means on, and the remote control is already located on the table, not moving onto it. With this meaning of location, Icelandic uses the dative.

So:

• borð = table
• borðinu = the table in the dative singular

That gives:

• á borðinu = on the table

Yes. Á borðið usually means onto the table, with a sense of movement toward the surface.

So the contrast is:

• á borðinu = on the table (location, dative)
• á borðið = onto the table (motion toward, accusative)

This location-vs-motion contrast is very important with prepositions like á and í in Icelandic.

Á milli means between.

The important grammar point is that milli takes the genitive case. That is why the nouns after it are not in their basic dictionary forms.

So:

• sófi → sófans
• motta → mottunnar

And the phrase:

• á milli sófans og mottunnar

means:

• between the sofa and the rug/mat

Even though English does not visibly mark this with a special noun form, Icelandic does.

Because Icelandic nouns do not all decline the same way. The exact ending depends on the noun’s gender and declension pattern.

Here:

• sófi is a masculine noun
• motta is a feminine noun

In the genitive singular definite, they become:

• sófans
• mottunnar

So the difference is normal. Icelandic case endings are not one-size-fits-all; you usually need to learn a noun together with its gender and common forms.

Líklega means probably.

It is an adverb, and in this sentence it modifies the whole statement:

• hún er líklega á milli sófans og mottunnar
• it is probably between the sofa and the rug

Its position is natural Icelandic word order: after the verb er and before the prepositional phrase.

Yes. You can say:

• Líklega er hún á milli sófans og mottunnar.

That is also correct.

But notice what happens to the word order: when líklega comes first, the verb er still stays in second position, so hún comes after the verb.

So:

• Líklega er hún... = correct
• Líklega hún er... = not normal standard main-clause word order

This is part of Icelandic’s verb-second pattern.

Yes, that is a very good way to learn it.

You can think of:

• á milli + genitive

as a useful pattern meaning between.

Examples:

• á milli húsanna = between the houses
• á milli mín og þín = between me and you
• á milli sófans og mottunnar = between the sofa and the rug

Learning it as a chunk will help you remember both the meaning and the fact that genitive comes after it.