Learn Icelandic: Við höfum aldrei upplifað þetta áður. - We have never experienced this before.

In the present perfect tense, short adverbs like aldrei (never), alltaf (always), or ekki (not) are placed immediately after the conjugated helper verb (höfum) and before the past participle (upplifað). It matches the English word order perfectly: 'have never experienced'.

Why does the verb upplifað end in -að here?

When you use the helper verb hafa (to have), the main verb is always in its neuter singular past participle form (often called the supine). For regular verbs like upplifa, this form ends in -að.

Does upplifa literally mean 'to live up'?

Yes! It is a compound of upp (up) and lifa (to live). When combined into upplifa, it translates to 'to experience'.

Why do we use þetta (this) instead of þessi?

We use the neuter form þetta when referring to an abstract idea, an unspecified event, or a general situation. Since 'this' refers to the overall event they are experiencing, rather than a specific masculine or feminine noun, it takes the neuter form.