Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Ég les bréfið og skoða kortið í garðinum. - I read the letter and look at the map in the garden.

Icelandic does not use separate words like “the” or “a.” Instead, it adds the definite article as a suffix to the noun. For neuter singular bréf (“letter”), the definite suffix is -ið, giving bréfið = the letter. Leaving it as bréf generally conveys a letter in context. If you need to stress “one letter,” you can say eitt bréf.

Why is garðinum in the dative case, and what does the suffix -inum indicate?

The preposition í (“in/at”) takes the dative when showing a static location. The noun garður (“garden”) has the dative singular stem garði. To make it definite, Icelandic adds the article-suffix -num, resulting in garðinum, literally “in-the-garden” (dative singular definite).

Why is the present tense of lesa written les, while skoða remains skoða in the present?

lesa is a strong (irregular) verb: in the first person singular present, it drops the infinitive ending and may change its stem, becoming les (“I read”). By contrast, skoða is a weak -a verb: its infinitive and its first person singular present both end in -a, so they look identical. (Only the third person adds -r, e.g. hann skoðar.)

When do you use í + dative versus í + accusative, for example í garðinum vs. í garðinn?

Use í + dative to express static location (“in/at”): ég les og skoða í garðinum = “I read and look at [something] in the garden.” Use í + accusative to express movement into something: ég fer í garðinn = “I go into the garden.”

Why is Ég only used once at the start, instead of repeating it before skoða? Are subject pronouns mandatory in Icelandic?

When two verbs share the same subject, you state the subject pronoun (Ég) only once. Moreover, Icelandic verbs are inflected for person and number, so the pronoun is often optional and can be omitted in casual speech. Including Ég at the beginning is common for clarity or emphasis, but you never repeat it before each verb in a simple coordinate construction.