Skoðunarmaðurinn skrifar annmarkann og akstursbannið á skoðunarvottorðið.

A learner will usually want to identify the base form of each word first:

• skoðunarmaðurinn → skoðunarmaður = inspector/examiner, masculine noun
• skrifar → skrifa = to write
• annmarkann → annmarki = defect, fault, remark, issue, masculine noun
• og = and
• akstursbannið → akstursbann = driving ban, prohibition on driving, neuter noun
• á = on, onto
• skoðunarvottorðið → skoðunarvottorð = inspection certificate, neuter noun

Knowing the dictionary form makes the endings much easier to understand.

Because Icelandic usually expresses the as a suffix attached to the noun.

So:

• skoðunarmaður = inspector

• skoðunarmaðurinn = the inspector

• akstursbann = driving ban

• akstursbannið = the driving ban

• skoðunarvottorð = inspection certificate
• skoðunarvottorðið = the inspection certificate

This is one of the most noticeable differences from English. Icelandic does have separate article-like forms in some contexts, but the normal everyday definite form is the ending on the noun.

Because annmarkann is the definite accusative singular form of annmarki.

Here is the logic:

• annmarki = the basic form, roughly a defect / a fault
• In this sentence, it is the direct object of skrifar
• Direct objects after skrifa are normally in the accusative
• It is also definite: the defect

So annmarki changes to annmarkann.

This is a very common Icelandic pattern: the noun changes form because of both case and definiteness.

Because akstursbann is a neuter noun, while annmarki is masculine.

That matters because Icelandic noun endings depend on:

• gender
• number
• case
• definiteness

So even though annmarkann and akstursbannið are both definite direct objects, they do not take the same ending.

• annmarki → annmarkann
  masculine accusative singular definite

• akstursbann → akstursbannið
  neuter accusative singular definite

Also, for many neuter nouns, nominative and accusative are the same apart from the article ending.

Yes. They are two coordinated direct objects joined by og.

So the structure is:

• Skoðunarmaðurinn = subject
• skrifar = verb
• annmarkann og akstursbannið = two direct objects
• á skoðunarvottorðið = prepositional phrase telling where/onto what it is written

In other words, the inspector writes both:

• the defect
• and the driving ban

onto the inspection certificate.

Because Icelandic compounds often use the genitive form of the first noun.

For example:

• skoðun = inspection
• genitive singular: skoðunar
• skoðunarmaður = literally something like inspection’s person → inspector

Likewise:

• skoðun → skoðunar
• vottorð = certificate
• skoðunarvottorð = inspection certificate

And:

• akstur = driving
• genitive singular: aksturs
• akstursbann = driving ban

So those middle pieces are not random. They often come from the genitive linking form used in compounds. This is extremely common in Icelandic vocabulary.

This is a very common learner question, because á can take different cases.

In broad terms:

• á + accusative often suggests movement, direction, or a target
• á + dative often suggests location or position

Here, á skoðunarvottorðið uses the accusative because the certificate is treated as the target surface/document that something gets written onto.

So the idea is roughly:

• write something onto/on to the certificate

If you saw á skoðunarvottorðinu instead, that would feel more like simple location: on the certificate as a place where something is located.

With verbs like skrifa, Icelandic often uses á + accusative for the thing you write onto.

It can definitely mean more than literal handwriting.

In official or administrative language, skrifa eitthvað á eitthvað often means:

• write
• write down
• enter
• record
• note on a document

So even if English might prefer records or enters, Icelandic can still naturally use skrifar.

That is very common with forms, reports, certificates, and official paperwork.

Because Icelandic verbs do not change for gender in the way nouns and adjectives do.

In the present tense, skrifar is the 3rd person singular form, and it works for:

• he writes
• she writes
• it writes

So:

• Hann skrifar
• Hún skrifar
• Það skrifar

all use skrifar.

Also, Icelandic often uses the simple present where English might use either:

• writes
• is writing

So skrifar can cover both, depending on context.

The given order is the most neutral one:

• Subject + Verb + Objects + Prepositional phrase

So:

• Skoðunarmaðurinn skrifar annmarkann og akstursbannið á skoðunarvottorðið.

But Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, especially because of the verb-second rule in main clauses.

For example, you can front another element for emphasis or style, and then the verb still stays in second position:

• Á skoðunarvottorðið skrifar skoðunarmaðurinn annmarkann og akstursbannið.
• Annmarkann og akstursbannið skrifar skoðunarmaðurinn á skoðunarvottorðið.

These are more marked than the original sentence, but they are possible.

So the original is not the only grammatical order, just the most straightforward one.

Yes — it shows several very typical Icelandic features all at once:

1. The definite article is attached to the noun

   • skoðunarmaðurinn, akstursbannið, skoðunarvottorðið

2. Case matters

   • annmarkann is accusative because it is a direct object
   • á skoðunarvottorðið uses accusative after á in this context

3. Compounds are everywhere

   • skoðunarmaður
   • akstursbann
   • skoðunarvottorð

4. The linking element in compounds often comes from the genitive

   • skoðunar-
   • aksturs-

5. Word order is fairly regular here but not rigid

   • the sentence is in a normal subject–verb–object pattern

So this is a very good sentence for seeing how Icelandic packs a lot of grammar into word endings and compounds.