Sigtið er í skúffunni við hliðina á skeiðunum.

Er is the present-tense singular form of vera (to be). Since sigtið is third-person singular, Icelandic uses er:

• sigtið er = the sieve is

Because í takes the dative when it describes location. Here the sieve is already located in the drawer, so Icelandic uses the dative.

The noun is skúffa (drawer, feminine), and its definite dative singular form is skúffunni.

So:

• í skúffunni = in the drawer

No. Í can take either dative or accusative, depending on meaning:

• dative for location: í skúffunni = in the drawer
• accusative for motion into something: í skúffuna = into the drawer

This location-versus-motion contrast is very important in Icelandic.

Because they do two different jobs:

• í skúffunni tells you the main location: the sieve is in the drawer
• við hliðina á skeiðunum adds a second spatial relationship: it is next to the spoons

So the sentence gives a more precise location inside the drawer area.

It is a very common fixed expression meaning next to or beside.

Although it is built from smaller pieces, learners usually do best by memorizing við hliðina á as one chunk. You can use it with many nouns and pronouns:

• við hliðina á mér = next to me
• við hliðina á húsinu = next to the house

It comes from the noun hlið (side). In this expression, hliðina is the definite accusative singular form.

So, literally, the phrase is something like by the side of, but in normal English it is simply next to.

Because Icelandic packages this idea differently from English. The idiomatic expression is við hliðina á, not normally just við hlið á.

So even though English does not mention the side, Icelandic uses a phrase that literally includes it. This is one of those expressions that is best learned as a whole.

Because in the expression við hliðina á, the noun after á goes in the dative.

The dictionary form is skeið (spoon, feminine). Its forms are:

• nominative plural: skeiðar
• dative plural: skeiðum
• definite dative plural: skeiðunum

So á skeiðunum here means by the spoons / next to the spoons.

Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

In this sentence:

• sigtið = the sieve
• skúffunni = the drawer in dative
• hliðina = the side
• skeiðunum = the spoons in dative plural

This suffixed article is one of the biggest differences from English.

Yes, they matter because gender affects the endings.

• sigti is neuter
• skúffa is feminine
• hlið is feminine
• skeið is feminine

Knowing the gender helps you predict the correct definite forms and case endings.

The sentence has a straightforward structure:

• Sigtið = subject
• er = verb
• í skúffunni við hliðina á skeiðunum = location phrase

So the overall pattern is subject + verb + place.

Yes. Icelandic main clauses follow the V2 rule, which means the finite verb normally stays in second position.

For example, you could also say:

Í skúffunni við hliðina á skeiðunum er sigtið.

That is still correct. The location phrase comes first, but er remains in second position.