Fjölskyldan flýr húsið.

In Icelandic, the definite article the is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

So:

• fjölskylda = family
• fjölskyldan = the family

The ending -an here is the suffixed definite article for this noun in the nominative singular.

This is very common in Icelandic:

• maður = man
• maðurinn = the man
• kona = woman
• konan = the woman

So fjölskyldan literally means family-the, but in natural English that is just the family.

Because fjölskyldan is grammatically singular.

Even though a family is made up of several people, the noun fjölskylda itself is singular, just like English the family can take singular agreement in many contexts.

So:

• fjölskyldan = the family → singular subject
• therefore flýr = singular verb form

This is the same basic idea as in English sentences like:

• The family is leaving.
• The team wins often.

Icelandic follows the grammatical number of the noun, not the number of people inside the group.

Flýr is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb flýja, which means to flee, to escape, or to run away from.

So:

• að flýja = to flee
• ég flý = I flee
• þú flýrð = you flee
• hann / hún / það flýr = he / she / it flees

In your sentence, the subject is fjölskyldan (the family), which is 3rd person singular, so flýr is the correct form.

Just like fjölskyldan, húsið has the definite article attached to the noun.

• hús = house
• húsið = the house

The ending -ið is the definite article here.

So the sentence has two definite nouns:

• Fjölskyldan = the family
• húsið = the house

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Icelandic: the is often not a separate word.

Good question. In Icelandic, the verb flýja can take a direct object without a preposition.

So Icelandic says:

• flýja húsið = literally flee the house

Even if English often prefers flee from the house or escape from the house, Icelandic does not need a separate word meaning from here.

This is just how the verb works grammatically. Some verbs match English closely, but others do not.

So:

• Fjölskyldan flýr húsið.
• literally: The family flees the house
• naturally: The family flees the house / escapes from the house

Here húsið is the direct object, so it is in the accusative case.

The verb flýja takes an accusative object, so the thing being fled appears in the accusative.

However, there is a small complication: for many neuter nouns like hús, the nominative and accusative forms are identical in the singular.

So:

• nominative: húsið = the house
• accusative: húsið = the house

The form looks the same, but the function is different. In this sentence, you know it is accusative because it is the object of flýr.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• Fjölskyldan ≈ FYUL-skil-tan
• flýr ≈ fleer but with a pure long vowel
• húsið ≈ HOO-sith or HOO-sithh

A few helpful notes:

• fjö sounds somewhat like fyö or fyu, not like English joe
• ý is a long ee-like sound
• ú is roughly oo
• ð is like the th in this, though in some positions it can sound weaker
• stress in Icelandic usually falls on the first syllable of the word

So the main stresses are:

• FJÖLskyldan
• FLÝR
• HÚsið

Yes. Fjölskyldan flýr húsið follows a very normal Icelandic sentence pattern:

• Fjölskyldan = subject
• flýr = verb
• húsið = object

So it is a straightforward SVO sentence, much like English:

• The family flees the house.

Icelandic can vary word order more than English in some contexts, especially because of the V2 rule in main clauses, but this sentence is the simplest and most neutral order.

Yes.

• fjölskylda = a family / family
• fjölskyldan = the family

So if you removed the article, you would get:

• Fjölskylda flýr hús.

But that sounds less natural in ordinary usage unless the context clearly calls for an indefinite meaning. Also, hús without the article would mean a house or just house depending on context.

In your original sentence, both nouns are definite:

• Fjölskyldan = the family
• húsið = the house

The dictionary forms are:

• fjölskylda = family
• hús = house

When you look up Icelandic nouns, dictionaries usually give the indefinite nominative singular form, not the form with the attached article.

So if you see:

• fjölskyldan, look up fjölskylda
• húsið, look up hús

That is important because Icelandic nouns change form for:

• definiteness
• case
• number

So the exact word in the sentence is not always the form you will find as the headword in a dictionary.

Yes, depending on context.

Icelandic present tense often covers both:

• The family flees the house
• The family is fleeing the house

English makes a stronger formal distinction between simple present and present progressive, but Icelandic often uses the simple present form where English might prefer either one depending on the situation.

So flýr can be understood as:

• habitual or general present: flees
• current action: is fleeing

The wider context would tell you which is intended.