Breakdown of Það er verið að hella steypunni í undirstöðuna.
vera
to be
það
it / there (existential) / the one (n)
að
to (infinitive marker)
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
hella
to pour
steypan
the concrete
undirstaðan
the foundation
Questions & Answers about Það er verið að hella steypunni í undirstöðuna.
Why does the Icelandic sentence use "Það er verið að" instead of making "the concrete" the subject like in English?
This is the impersonal continuous passive, the standard way to express an ongoing passive action in Icelandic. Instead of promoting the object to a true subject, Icelandic uses the placeholder Það, followed by er verið að and the infinitive hella. The object steypunni simply follows the verb.
Why is "steypunni" in the dative case?
The verb hella (to pour) requires the substance being poured to be in the dative case. Here, steypunni is the dative definite form of the feminine noun steypa (concrete). In Icelandic, verbs that govern the dative or genitive keep their required case even in passive constructions.
Can I move "Steypunni" to the front of the sentence?
Yes, you can emphasize the object by moving it to the front: Steypunni er verið að hella í undirstöðuna. This is extremely common. Because Það is just a dummy word used to keep the verb in the second position, it disappears entirely when another element moves to the front.
Why does the preposition "í" take the accusative case here for "undirstöðuna"?
The preposition í governs the accusative case when it describes motion toward a destination (pouring concrete into the foundation). If it were describing a static location (something already resting in the foundation), it would take the dative case. undirstöðuna is the accusative definite form of undirstaða.
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