Burðarólin er sterk.

The base form is burðaról. The ending -in is the suffixed definite article, so it makes the noun definite: the carrying strap.

Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word the way English does.

• burðaról = carrying strap
• burðarólin = the carrying strap

Burðaról is a compound noun.

• burður means carrying / transport
• ól means strap

In compounds, the first part often appears in a linking form, very often related to the genitive. So burðar- is the compound form that gives the sense of carrying- or for carrying.

So the whole word literally means something like carrying-strap.

It is feminine.

That matters because adjectives in Icelandic must agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. In this sentence, that is why the adjective appears as sterk.

Because the adjective has to agree with burðarólin.

Here, the noun is:

• feminine
• singular
• nominative

So the adjective also takes the feminine singular nominative form:

• masculine: sterkur
• feminine: sterk
• neuter: sterkt

That is why Burðarólin er sterk is correct.

Er is the present-tense singular form of vera, the verb to be.

So here it works just like English is:

• er = is

It links the subject burðarólin with the description sterk.

It is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

The adjective sterk also matches it in the nominative. After vera with this kind of simple description, Icelandic normally uses a predicate adjective that agrees with the subject.

So structurally this is:

• subject: Burðarólin
• verb: er
• predicate adjective: sterk

It is singular.

You can tell because:

• burðarólin is singular
• the verb is er rather than eru
• the adjective is singular sterk

If the noun were plural, the verb and adjective would also change to plural forms.

The normal word order here is:

• subject + verb + adjective

So:

• Burðarólin er sterk.

To make it a yes/no question, Icelandic usually puts the verb first:

• Er burðarólin sterk?

That means Is the carrying strap strong?

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

BUR-thar-oh-lin er sterk

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• Stress usually falls on the first syllable of each word.
• ð is like the th in this.
• r is typically tapped or rolled, not the English-style r.
• ó is a long o sound.

So the strongest beats are on BURðarólin and STERK.