When we want to describe an action with an adjective, like "It is complicated to learn," Icelandic uses an "anticipatory subject"—a placeholder that pushes the actual action to the end of the sentence. This structure maps perfectly to English.
Það er... að... (It is... to...)
To build this structure, start with the dummy subject það (it) and the verb er (is) or var (was). Because það is a neuter pronoun, the adjective that describes the action MUST be in its neuter singular form. Finally, add að and the infinitive verb to state what the action actually is.
For example, the adjective flókinn (complicated) becomes flókið in the neuter form:
The same neuter agreement applies to other adjectives, such as hjálplegur becoming hjálplegt and tímafrekur becoming tímafrekt:
Emphasizing with "Það er/var... sem..."
You can also use this "It is..." structure to place special emphasis on a specific noun. Instead of a delayed infinitive, you follow the noun with the relative particle sem (that/which).
In these sentences, if an adjective is used to describe the emphasized noun later in the clause, it agrees with the noun's gender, not with the initial það. In the following example, þýðingin (the translation) is feminine, so the adjective is the feminine flókin:
Discussing Language Learning
Here are a few more examples applying this extraposition structure to discuss the common challenges and habits of learning a new language:
