Ég set heilsuna mína í forgang.

A quick breakdown:

• Ég = I
• set = put / set; here it means put in the sense of place or put into
• heilsuna = the health → from heilsa (health), but in the correct case for this sentence
• mína = my, agreeing with heilsuna
• í = into / in
• forgang = priority in this expression

So structurally, it is something like:

I put my health into priority

That sounds odd in English, but in Icelandic it is a normal way to say I prioritize my health or I put my health first.

Because setja is the dictionary form (the infinitive), meaning to put / to set.

In the sentence, the verb is conjugated for:

• present tense
• 1st person singular
• subject ég (I)

So:

• að setja = to put
• ég set = I put
• þú setur = you put
• hann/hún/það setur = he/she/it puts

So Ég set ... is simply the correct finite verb form.

Because heilsuna is the direct object of set, and it is also definite.

The base noun is:

• heilsa = health

But in this sentence, it becomes:

• heilsuna = the health in the accusative singular

Why accusative?
Because setja takes a direct object, and that object is normally in the accusative.

So:

• heilsa = base form
• heilsan = the health (nominative)
• heilsuna = the health (accusative)

Yes, to an English speaker it can look like the my health, but this is completely normal in Icelandic.

When a possessive comes after the noun, Icelandic usually uses:

• the noun with the definite ending
• plus the possessive

So:

• bókin mín = my book
• bíllinn minn = my car
• heilsuna mína = my health (in this sentence’s case form)

This is one of the most important differences from English. It is not bad or redundant Icelandic. It is the standard pattern.

Because Icelandic possessives change form to match the noun they go with.

Here, mína agrees with heilsuna, which is:

• feminine
• singular
• accusative

So the possessive has to match that.

The basic possessive is often listed as:

• minn = my

But its form changes:

• minn (masculine)
• mín (feminine nominative)
• mitt (neuter)
• and many other case forms, including mína

In this sentence, mína is the correct form because it matches heilsuna.

Because in Icelandic, the most neutral and common way to say my X is often:

• noun + definite ending + possessive

So:

• heilsuna mína
• húsið mitt
• vinur minn

This is the usual everyday pattern.

A form with the possessive before the noun can exist, but it often sounds more:

• emphatic
• contrastive
• literary
• or less neutral

So heilsuna mína is the natural choice here.

Because setja X í forgang is a fixed and very common Icelandic expression meaning:

• to prioritize X
• to put X first

Literally, it is something like:

• put X into priority

That sounds strange in English, but it is idiomatic in Icelandic.

So you should learn í forgang here as part of the whole phrase:

• setja eitthvað í forgang = to prioritize something

This is about the preposition í and case choice.

In Icelandic, í can take:

• accusative for motion/change into
• dative for location/state in

Here, the idea is putting something into a state of priority, so Icelandic uses accusative:

• í forgang

Compare that with a static idea:

• vera í forgangi = to be a priority

So:

• Ég set heilsuna mína í forgang.
  = I put my health first.
  → change into a priority

• Heilsan mín er í forgangi.
  = My health is a priority.
  → state

Because in this expression, forgang is used as part of an idiomatic phrase, not as a specific countable object like the priority.

So Icelandic says:

• í forgang
• not usually í forganginn

This is similar to how languages often use a bare noun inside fixed expressions. The best approach is to learn it as a chunk:

• setja í forgang
• hafa í forgangi
• vera í forgangi

No. There is also the verb:

• forgangsraða = to prioritize

So you could also say something like:

• Ég forgangsraða heilsunni minni.

But setja heilsuna mína í forgang is very natural and idiomatic, especially in everyday language.

A useful difference in feel:

• setja ... í forgang often sounds very natural and conversational
• forgangsraða can sound a bit more formal, administrative, or abstract, depending on context

Yes. The neutral word order is:

• Ég set heilsuna mína í forgang.

But Icelandic allows other orders for emphasis or style. For example:

• Heilsuna mína set ég í forgang.

That puts extra focus on heilsuna mína.

So the original sentence is the most neutral, standard order, but Icelandic word order is more flexible than English word order.

Yes, very natural.

It sounds like something you might say when talking about:

• self-care
• lifestyle choices
• work-life balance
• personal values
• health decisions

It is a normal, idiomatic way to express the idea I prioritize my health or I put my health first.