Eftirlitið byrjar núna.

Eftirlitið comes from the noun eftirlit, which can mean inspection, monitoring, supervision, or oversight, depending on context.

So Eftirlitið byrjar núna could mean things like:

• The inspection starts now
• The monitoring starts now
• The supervision begins now

The best English word depends on the situation.

The ending -ið is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic often puts the at the end of the word instead of using a separate word.

So:

• eftirlit = inspection / monitoring
• eftirlitið = the inspection / the monitoring

This is very common in Icelandic. For many neuter nouns, the definite nominative singular ends in -ið.

Eftirlit is a neuter noun.

In this sentence, Eftirlitið is in the nominative singular, because it is the subject of the sentence: it is the thing that starts.

So the structure is basically:

• Eftirlitið = the subject
• byrjar = starts / begins
• núna = now

Its gender does not change the form of the verb here. In the present tense, the verb agrees mainly with person and number, not with grammatical gender.

Byrjar is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of the verb byrja, which means to begin or to start.

So:

• að byrja = to start / to begin
• byrjar = starts / begins

It matches the singular subject Eftirlitið.

Because að is used with the infinitive, similar to English to.

For example:

• að byrja = to begin

But in Eftirlitið byrjar núna, the verb is already conjugated as a normal main verb:

• byrjar = begins / starts

So að would be wrong here. You use að when you want the infinitive form, not when you already have a finite verb in a sentence.

Icelandic often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• starts now
• is starting now

So Eftirlitið byrjar núna is completely natural.

If you want to emphasize that something is in the process of beginning right now, Icelandic can also use er að:

• Eftirlitið er að byrja núna

But the simple present version is very normal and idiomatic.

Núna means now or right now.

You can often also use nú, and in many cases the meaning is very similar:

• Eftirlitið byrjar núna
• Eftirlitið byrjar nú

Both are possible.

A useful difference to remember is:

• núna often feels a bit more like right now
• nú can also have other uses, such as a discourse word meaning something like now, well, or so

For a learner, it is safe to understand núna here simply as now.

Yes, but Icelandic has an important verb-second pattern in main clauses.

The neutral order here is:

• Eftirlitið byrjar núna

You can also move núna to the front:

• Núna byrjar eftirlitið

That is still correct, and the verb byrjar stays in the second position.

What you should not do is copy English-style word order too directly and say:

• Núna eftirlitið byrjar

That is not the normal Icelandic main-clause order.

So a good rule is: if you move something to the front, the finite verb usually comes next.