Skjávarpinn virkar ekki í dag.

In Icelandic, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun.

• skjávarpi = projector
• skjávarpinn = the projector

So -inn here is the masculine singular the ending.

This is very common in Icelandic:

• bíll = car
• bíllinn = the car

Because skjávarpi is a masculine noun, not a neuter one.

In the nominative singular:

• many masculine nouns take -inn as the definite ending
• many neuter nouns take -ið

So:

• skjávarpi = a projector
• skjávarpinn = the projector

A learner often wants to guess from meaning, but in Icelandic you have to learn each noun’s grammatical gender.

virkar is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of the verb virka, which means to work, to function, or sometimes to have an effect depending on context.

Here it means works / is working:

• skjávarpinn virkar = the projector works / the projector is working

Because the subject is singular (the projector), the verb is singular too.

It can mean either, depending on context.

In Icelandic, the simple present often covers both:

• a general fact: works
• a current situation: is working

So Skjávarpinn virkar ekki í dag can naturally mean:

• The projector doesn’t work today
• The projector isn’t working today

English often chooses between simple present and progressive, but Icelandic very often just uses the simple present.

Because in a normal Icelandic main clause, the negation ekki usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• virkar ekki = does not work / isn’t working

This is the normal pattern:

• Hann kemur ekki. = He isn’t coming / He doesn’t come.
• Ég skil ekki. = I don’t understand.

So ekki virkar would not be the normal word order here.

í dag means today.

Literally, it looks like in day, but as a fixed expression it simply means today. This is a very common time phrase in Icelandic.

Examples:

• í dag = today
• í gær = yesterday
• á morgun = tomorrow

So even though English uses just one word, Icelandic uses this prepositional expression.

In í dag, dag is in the accusative singular form of dagur (day).

This expression is basically a fixed time phrase, so learners usually memorize it as a whole:

• dagur = day
• dag = day (accusative singular)

It is best to learn í dag as one chunk meaning today, even if the case details feel a bit advanced at first.

Because skjávarpinn is already the subject: the projector.

English often uses it when the thing has already been mentioned:

• It isn’t working today.

But in this Icelandic sentence, the speaker names the subject directly:

• Skjávarpinn virkar ekki í dag.
• The projector isn’t working today.

So no extra pronoun is needed.

Yes. That is also natural Icelandic.

• Skjávarpinn virkar ekki í dag = simple, neutral, very common
• Skjávarpinn er ekki að virka í dag = more explicitly is not working

The version with er að + infinitive can sound a bit more like an ongoing situation, similar to the English progressive. But in many everyday situations, the simpler virkar ekki is perfectly normal.

Yes. Icelandic allows some flexibility in word order, especially to emphasize time or topic.

You can say:

• Skjávarpinn virkar ekki í dag.
• Í dag virkar skjávarpinn ekki.

Both are natural. The second version puts more emphasis on today.

One important thing to notice is that Icelandic often keeps the finite verb in the second position in main clauses, so when Í dag comes first, virkar comes right after it.

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

SKYAU-vahr-pin

A few notes:

• skj at the beginning sounds somewhat like sky
• á is a diphthong, roughly like ow in cow, though not exactly
• the r is rolled or tapped
• -inn is pronounced with a clear n sound at the end

You do not need a perfect accent right away; the most helpful thing is to recognize that skjávarpinn is one word meaning the projector.