Við pökkum speglinum inn í bóluplast.

Pökkum is the 1st person plural present tense of að pakka.

So:

• að pakka = to pack / to wrap
• við pökkum = we pack / we are packing

In Icelandic, the simple present can often cover both the English we pack and we are packing, depending on context.

This is because of u-umlaut (also called u-mutation), a very common sound change in Icelandic.

The ending -um contains a u, and that causes the a in the stem to change to ö:

• pakka
• við pökkum

So this is not irregular in a random way; it follows a common pattern in Icelandic grammar.

A similar example is:

• fara → við förum

Because að pakka takes a dative object in Icelandic.

So the thing being packed is put in the dative case, not the accusative.

Here the noun is spegill = mirror. Its definite singular dative form is speglinum:

• spegill = a mirror
• speglinum = the mirror (dative singular)

If you used spegilinn, that would be the accusative definite form, which does not fit the case required by pakka.

Here inn í gives the idea of into / inside / wrapped in.

• inn = in, inward
• í = in / into

With verbs like pakka or vefja, Icelandic often uses inn í when something is being enclosed or wrapped in some material.

So pakka speglinum inn í bóluplast is the natural way to say that the mirror is being wrapped up in bubble wrap.

English often just says in bubble wrap, but Icelandic likes this more directional expression.

It is accusative, because í takes:

• accusative for movement/direction into
• dative for location/state in

Since inn í clearly expresses movement into a covering or enclosure, accusative is expected.

With bóluplast, the form does not visibly change here, so you do not immediately see the accusative ending. But the grammar is still accusative.

A useful contrast is:

• í bóluplast = into bubble wrap
• í bóluplasti = in bubble wrap (locational/state meaning)

Because bóluplast is being used as a material, not as a specific identified object.

In English we also often say:

• in bubble wrap

rather than

• in the bubble wrap

The same idea applies in Icelandic. When a material is meant in a general sense, it is often left indefinite.

So í bóluplast means in bubble wrap / in bubble-wrap material, not necessarily in the specific bubble wrap.

In normal Icelandic, yes, you usually do say Við.

Even though pökkum already shows 1st person plural, Icelandic normally still uses the subject pronoun in an ordinary sentence. It is not like Spanish or Italian, where the subject pronoun is often dropped.

So:

• Við pökkum speglinum inn í bóluplast.

is the normal full sentence.

Yes, but the given sentence has the most neutral, straightforward word order.

• Við pökkum speglinum inn í bóluplast.

That is a very natural default order: subject + verb + object + particle/prepositional phrase

You can move elements for emphasis, but Icelandic main clauses usually keep the finite verb in second position. For example, a more marked version could be:

• Speglinum pökkum við inn í bóluplast.

That sounds more emphatic or contrastive. For learners, the original word order is the safest one to use.

It is separate, but it works like a verbal particle.

The main verb is still að pakka, but in this sentence inn adds an important meaning: pack/wrap in, inward, enclosed.

So you can think of pakka ... inn í ... as a common pattern:

• pakka einhverju inn í pappír
• pakka einhverju inn í plast
• pakka einhverju inn í bóluplast

This is similar to how English uses particles in combinations like wrap up, pack away, or put in.