Sögnin í þessari setningu er í þátíð.

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• Sögnin = the verb
• í = in
• þessari = this (feminine singular, dative)
• setningu = sentence (dative singular)
• er = is
• í = in
• þátíð = past tense

So the whole sentence means The verb in this sentence is in the past tense.

In Icelandic, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• sögn = verb
• sögnin = the verb

That final -in is the definite article here.

This is very common in Icelandic:

• maður = man
• maðurinn = the man

So sögnin is literally verb-the.

Because the preposition í here requires the dative case when it means being in a place or state.

So:

• þessi setning = this sentence (nominative)
• í þessari setningu = in this sentence (dative)

Both words change to match the grammar:

• þessi → þessari
• setning → setningu

Also, setning is a feminine noun, so the demonstrative has to agree with it in:

• gender
• number
• case

That is why you get þessari setningu and not some other form.

It changes because it is in the dative singular after í.

The noun is:

• setning = sentence (dictionary form, nominative singular)

But in the phrase í þessari setningu, it must be dative:

• setningu = sentence in the dative singular

This kind of case change is normal in Icelandic. English mostly does not do this with nouns, so it often feels unfamiliar at first.

Because the sentence has two different in phrases:

1. í þessari setningu = in this sentence
2. í þátíð = in the past tense

The first one refers to where the verb appears: in this sentence.

The second one refers to grammatical form: in the past tense.

So even though English and Icelandic both use in here, the two phrases are doing different jobs.

In grammar terminology, Icelandic often uses the bare noun after a preposition in expressions like:

• í nútíð = in the present tense
• í þátíð = in the past tense

So í þátíð is the normal way to say in the past tense.

Adding the article, í þátíðinni, would sound more like in the specific past tense, which is usually not what is meant in a general grammar explanation.

Þátíð is the Icelandic grammatical term for past tense.

You will often see it contrasted with:

• nútíð = present tense

So:

• er í nútíð = is in the present tense
• er í þátíð = is in the past tense

This is standard grammar vocabulary in Icelandic.

Because er is not the verb being described. It is the verb of the explanation sentence itself.

The sentence is saying, right now:

• The verb in this sentence is in the past tense.

So er = is is present tense because the statement itself is present.

A similar thing happens in English:

• The verb is in the past tense.

Even though you are talking about past tense, the verb is is still present.

It is dative, because it follows í in this usage.

In practice, though, þátíð looks the same here as its basic form, so the case is not obvious just from the spelling.

The important point for a learner is:

• í often takes the dative when it means location or state
• í þátíð is a fixed grammatical expression meaning in the past tense

Because setning is a feminine noun.

In Icelandic, words like this, that, adjectives, and articles often have to agree with the noun they describe.

Since setning is:

• feminine
• singular
• dative here

the form must be:

• þessari

If the noun were masculine or neuter, you would use a different form.

The given word order is the most straightforward and neutral:

• Sögnin í þessari setningu er í þátíð.

You can move parts around in Icelandic for emphasis, but that changes the feel of the sentence. For example:

• Í þessari setningu er sögnin í þátíð.

This still means essentially the same thing, but puts more focus on in this sentence.

So the original version is a normal, natural way to say it.

Here are the main ones:

• ö in Sögnin is somewhat like the vowel in French peur or German schön. For English speakers, there is no exact match.
• þ in þessari and þátíð is like th in thing
• ð does not appear in this sentence, but when it does appear in Icelandic, it is usually like th in this

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Sögnin ≈ SUG-nin with a rounded vowel
• þessari ≈ THESS-ar-i
• setningu ≈ SET-ning-k(u), with the g affecting the sound
• þátíð ≈ THAU-tee(th), very roughly

Pronunciation in Icelandic is not always easy to guess from English, so hearing native audio is very helpful.

Yes, sögn can mean more than one thing depending on context.

It can mean:

• verb in grammar
• story, account, or narrative in other contexts

In this sentence, because it is followed by í þátíð, it clearly means verb.

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes. This is a very normal, textbook-style Icelandic sentence.

You could easily see similar sentences such as:

• Sögnin er í nútíð. = The verb is in the present tense.
• Nafnorðið er í þolfalli. = The noun is in the accusative.
• Lýsingarorðið er í kvenkyni. = The adjective is in the feminine.

So this sentence is useful not just for understanding Icelandic, but also for learning how grammar is explained in Icelandic itself.