Learn Icelandic: Barnið sefur úti. - The child is sleeping outside.

Sofa belongs to the group of verbs that take an -ur ending for he, she, and it in the present tense. It also has a stem vowel change where the o becomes an e. Because barnið (the child) acts as an 'it', the verb becomes sefur.

The English translation says the child 'is sleeping'. Where is the word for 'is' in the Icelandic sentence?

Icelandic does not use a separate continuous structure with a 'to be' verb. The single verb sefur translates to both 'sleeps' and 'is sleeping', depending on what makes sense in English.

How does the word barnið get its meaning of 'the child'?

In Icelandic, the word for 'the' is attached directly to the end of the noun. The base word is barn (child), which is a neuter noun. Adding the neuter ending -ið creates barnið.

I learned that út means 'outside'. Why does this sentence use úti?

Icelandic has different words for position versus movement. You use úti when someone or something is stationary outside, like a sleeping child. You use út when there is movement, such as walking out the door.