Viltu nota heita pottinn eða bera eldiviðinn að arninum?

Viltu means do you want to?

It is made from:

• vill = wants
• þú = you

In questions, Icelandic often puts the verb first, and vill þú is commonly contracted to viltu.

So:

• Þú vilt = you want
• Viltu ...? = do you want ...?

This is a very common conversational pattern in Icelandic.

Because this is a yes/no question.

In Icelandic, yes/no questions usually begin with the finite verb, followed by the subject. That is different from English, which often uses do.

Compare:

• Þú vilt nota heita pottinn. = You want to use the hot tub.
• Viltu nota heita pottinn? = Do you want to use the hot tub?

So the verb-first order is normal and expected here.

Because after vilja (to want), Icelandic normally uses the bare infinitive.

So:

• vilja nota = want to use
• vilja bera = want to carry

English needs to, but Icelandic does not here.

That means:

• Viltu nota ... literally = Want-you use ...
• natural English = Do you want to use ...

The same applies to the second verb:

• eða bera ... = or carry ...

Because the phrase is the direct object of nota, so it must be in the accusative case, and it is also definite: the hot tub.

Base form:

• heitur pottur = a hot tub / hot tub
  
  • heitur = nominative masculine singular
  • pottur = nominative masculine singular

In this sentence, it becomes:

• heita pottinn = the hot tub
  • heita = accusative masculine singular, weak adjective form
  • pottinn = accusative singular definite form of pottur

So the changes happen because:

1. it is definite
2. it is a direct object
3. the adjective must agree with the noun

In Icelandic, heitur pottur very commonly means hot tub, especially in everyday Icelandic culture.

Literally, the words are:

• heitur = hot
• pottur = pot / tub

But as a phrase, heitur pottur is the standard way to say hot tub.

So in this sentence, heita pottinn should definitely be understood as the hot tub, not a cooking pot.

Eldiviðinn means the firewood.

The dictionary form is:

• eldiviður = firewood

Here it appears as eldiviðinn because it is also the direct object, this time of bera (to carry), so it is in the accusative singular definite.

Compare:

• eldiviður = firewood
• eldiviðinn = the firewood

So in the sentence:

• bera eldiviðinn = carry the firewood

Even though English firewood feels like a mass noun, Icelandic still gives it normal case marking here.

Að arninum means to the fireplace or up to the fireplace.

The noun is:

• arinn = fireplace

After the preposition að, Icelandic uses the dative case. So:

• arinn = nominative
• arninum = dative definite singular

That is why you get:

• að arninum = to the fireplace

A helpful thing to remember is that að always takes the dative.

Here að means something like to, toward, or up to.

In this sentence:

• bera eldiviðinn að arninum

the idea is carrying the firewood to the fireplace, probably so it can be used there.

It is not always a perfect one-to-one match with English to, because Icelandic prepositions often cover several meanings depending on context. But in this sentence, to the fireplace is the natural translation.

Because both infinitives are coordinated by eða (or), and they both depend on the same verb viltu.

So the structure is:

• Viltu
  
  • nota heita pottinn
  • eða bera eldiviðinn að arninum

In English, this is exactly like:

• Do you want to use the hot tub or carry the firewood to the fireplace?

You do not need to repeat viltu before the second verb unless you want extra emphasis.

Yes. Eða means or.

It links two alternatives:

• nota heita pottinn
• bera eldiviðinn að arninum

So the speaker is offering a choice between two actions.

This works very much like English or.

It can often feel like either carry or bring, depending on context.

The verb bera basically means to carry or to bear. In real translation, English may choose:

• carry the firewood to the fireplace
• bring the firewood to the fireplace

If the focus is on the physical act of carrying, carry is the more literal choice. If the focus is on moving it to a destination, bring may sound more natural in English.

Yes, that is a very good way to understand it.

The pattern is:

• Viltu + infinitive + object + eða + infinitive + object/prepositional phrase?

Here that gives:

• Viltu
• nota heita pottinn
• eða
• bera eldiviðinn að arninum

So this is a useful model sentence for building your own Icelandic questions, such as:

• Viltu borða eða drekka? = Do you want to eat or drink?
• Viltu lesa bókina eða horfa á myndina? = Do you want to read the book or watch the movie?