The Continuous Passive
When observing public works or renovations, you see a lot of things happening, but you don't always need to mention who is doing each task. To describe an ongoing action where the doer is unknown or unimportant, Icelandic uses the impersonal continuous passive.
The formula is straightforward: Það er verið að + infinitive verb.
| Work is being done at the construction site. | Það er verið að vinna á framkvæmdasvæðinu. |
| The street light on our street is being fixed. | Það er verið að laga götuljósið á götunni okkar. |
Placing the Receiver of the Action
In this construction, the placeholder word það (it) acts as the grammatical subject. The actual thing receiving the action—like the concrete or the flooring—comes after the infinitive verb.
Even though the Icelandic sentence literally means "It is being to pour the concrete," it translates to "The concrete is being poured."
| The concrete is being poured into the foundation. | Það er verið að hella steypunni í undirstöðuna. |
| The flooring in the kitchen is being replaced. | Það er verið að skipta um gólfefnið í eldhúsinu. |
Dropping the Placeholder
Icelandic strictly keeps the main conjugated verb in the second position (the V2 rule). If you start your sentence with a time or prepositional phrase instead of the dummy subject það, the word það simply disappears. The verb er remains in the second slot.
| After the demolition, the foundation is being examined again. | Eftir niðurrifið er verið að skoða undirstöðuna aftur. |
| In the summer, the flooring is often being shown to the contractor. | Um sumarið er oft verið að sýna verktakanum gólfefnið. |