Þessi áætlun hentar okkur betur núna, og hún gæti jafnvel orðið varanleg seinna.

Because áætlun is a feminine singular noun, and þessi has to agree with it.

Here the phrase is in the nominative singular, so the correct demonstrative is:

• þessi for masculine/feminine
• þetta for neuter

So:

• þessi áætlun = this plan
• but þetta hús = this house

Even though English just says this for everything, Icelandic makes it agree with the noun’s gender.

Henta means something like suit, be suitable for, or work well for.

Its pattern is important:

• the thing that is suitable is the subject
• the person it suits goes in the dative

So in this sentence:

• Þessi áætlun = the thing that suits
• okkur = the people it suits

A very common pattern is:

• Þetta hentar mér. = This suits me.
• Nýja kerfið hentar þeim vel. = The new system suits them well.

So Icelandic structures this a bit differently from the most natural English phrasing.

Because henta requires the dative case for the person affected.

The pronoun við is the nominative form meaning we, but here the sentence needs the dative form okkur meaning to us / us.

The relevant forms are:

• við = we
• okkur = us, to us

So:

• Þessi áætlun hentar okkur. = This plan suits us.

This is one of those verbs you simply have to learn with its case pattern.

Because betur is an adverb, and here it modifies the verb hentar.

The idea is not that the plan is a better plan.
The idea is that it suits us better.

Compare:

• betri = better, as an adjective
• betra = better, neuter adjective form
• betur = better, adverb

So:

• betri áætlun = a better plan
• hentar betur = suits better

That is why betur is the correct form here.

Gæti is a form of geta, which often means can, be able to, or in some contexts might/could.

In this sentence, gæti gives a sense of possibility:

• hún gæti ... = it might ... / it could ...

So it is not talking about certainty. It suggests that becoming permanent is only a possibility.

A useful contrast:

• hún verður varanleg = it will become permanent
• hún gæti orðið varanleg = it might become permanent

So gæti makes the statement less definite.

This is a very common Icelandic pattern: gæti orðið means might become or might turn into.

Learners often expect gæti verða, but native Icelandic very often uses orðið in this construction. So the phrase is best learned as a chunk:

• það gæti orðið vandamál = that might become a problem
• þetta gæti orðið gott = this might turn out well
• hún gæti orðið varanleg = it might become permanent

So the safest practical advice is:

• learn gæti orðið as a normal way to say might become

Even if the form looks surprising at first, it is standard and very common.

Because it agrees with hún, which refers back to áætlun.

Áætlun is:

• feminine
• singular

So the adjective also has to be feminine singular:

• varanlegur = masculine
• varanleg = feminine
• varanlegt = neuter

Since the subject is hún = áætlun, the correct form is:

• hún gæti orðið varanleg

This is very typical after verbs like vera and verða, where a predicate adjective agrees with the subject.

Because Icelandic main clauses normally follow the verb-second rule.

In the second clause:

• hún is the first element
• gæti is the finite verb, so it comes second
• jafnvel then comes after that

So the order:

• hún gæti jafnvel orðið varanleg

is very natural Icelandic word order.

If you move jafnvel, you change the emphasis. For example:

• Jafnvel gæti hún orðið varanleg sounds more marked and stylistic.

So the original word order is the most neutral one.

Hún refers back to þessi áætlun.

Since áætlun is a feminine noun, the pronoun is hún.

It is there to start the new clause clearly:

• ... og hún gæti jafnvel orðið varanleg seinna.

English sometimes leaves out repeated subjects more easily in coordinated clauses, but Icelandic often keeps them, especially when it helps clarity.

So here hún is simply the pronoun it/she, referring to the plan.

Jafnvel means even.

It adds the idea that this possibility may be a little surprising, stronger than expected, or worth emphasizing:

• hún gæti orðið varanleg = it might become permanent
• hún gæti jafnvel orðið varanleg = it might even become permanent

So jafnvel adds emphasis, much like English even does.

They are both time adverbs:

• núna = now
• seinna = later

Together they create a contrast:

• betur núna = better now
• varanleg seinna = permanent later

So the sentence is comparing the present situation with a possible future development.

Also, seinna is very common in everyday Icelandic. You may also see síðar, which also means later, but seinna is perfectly natural here.

Þ is pronounced like the th in thin, not like the th in this.

So:

• Þessi starts with the unvoiced th sound

A rough approximation for English speakers is:

• Þessi ≈ THESS-i

Compare:

• Þ = like th in thin
• Ð = like th in this

That distinction is very important in Icelandic spelling and pronunciation.