Þó að verkefnið sé erfitt, skil ég það betur núna.

Þó að means although, even though, or though.

So:

• Þó að verkefnið sé erfitt = Although the project/task is difficult

It introduces a contrast: something is true, but something else is also true.

Sé is the subjunctive form of vera (to be).

In Icelandic, clauses introduced by þó að often use the subjunctive, especially in more careful or standard language. So:

• þó að ... sé = although ... is

Compare:

• er = normal present indicative is
• sé = present subjunctive be/is in certain subordinate clauses

For learners, it is useful to recognize sé as a very common form after conjunctions like þó að.

Verkefnið is the noun verkefni with the definite article attached, so it means the task, the assignment, or the project, depending on context.

Breakdown:

• verkefni = task / assignment / project
• verkefnið = the task / assignment / project

The ending -ið is the neuter singular definite article.

Because verkefnið is a neuter singular noun, the adjective has to match it.

The adjective erfiður (difficult) changes by gender:

• masculine: erfiður
• feminine: erfið
• neuter: erfitt

Since verkefnið is neuter, Icelandic uses:

• verkefnið er erfitt = the task/project is difficult

This is because Icelandic follows a verb-second pattern in main clauses.

When the sentence begins with another element—in this case the subordinate clause Þó að verkefnið sé erfitt—the finite verb of the main clause comes next:

• Þó að verkefnið sé erfitt, skil ég það betur núna.

If the sentence started directly with the subject, you would get:

• Ég skil það betur núna.

So the inversion happens because the sentence does not begin with ég.

Það refers back to verkefnið.

So the meaning is basically:

• I understand it better now
• where it = the project/task

Because verkefni is neuter, the pronoun is also neuter:

• það = it

Using a pronoun here is natural and avoids repeating verkefnið.

Because betur is an adverb, while betra is an adjective form.

Here, betur modifies the verb skil (understand), so it means better in the sense of understand better.

• Ég skil það betur = I understand it better

Compare:

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

English uses better for both adjective and adverb, but Icelandic distinguishes them more clearly.

Núna means now.

It shows a change over time:

• skil ég það betur núna = I understand it better now

This suggests that earlier, the speaker did not understand it as well.

In Icelandic, núna can move around somewhat depending on emphasis, but this position is very natural.

Yes, but they are very close in meaning.

• þó að = although / even though
• þótt = although / even though

In many cases, they can be used almost interchangeably. So you could also say:

• Þótt verkefnið sé erfitt, skil ég það betur núna.

Learners should recognize both. Þó að may feel a bit more transparent because it is two words, but both are common.

Yes, in normal writing it is standard to put a comma after the initial subordinate clause:

• Þó að verkefnið sé erfitt, skil ég það betur núna.

The comma helps show where the subordinate clause ends and the main clause begins.

In speech, this corresponds to a small pause.

You may sometimes hear indicative forms in speech, but the standard and expected form here is:

• Þó að verkefnið sé erfitt

That is because þó að commonly takes the subjunctive. For a learner, it is best to learn þó að + subjunctive as the normal pattern.

Here verkefnið is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of sé.

In the clause:

• verkefnið sé erfitt

verkefnið = the thing that is difficult, so it is the subject.

This is a useful basic pattern:

• [noun in nominative] + vera + adjective

Very often, yes. In this sentence, skil comes from skilja, and it means understand.

• Ég skil = I understand

But skilja can also have other meanings in some contexts, such as separate or leave behind, so context matters. Here, because of það betur, the meaning is clearly understand.