Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Við spilum nýjan tölvuleik eftir kvöldmat. - We play a new computer game after dinner.

The ending -um marks the 1st-person plural in the present tense of the weak verb að spila. So spilum literally means we play (or we are playing).

Why is tölvuleik missing the -ur ending?

Many masculine nouns in Icelandic end in -ur in the nominative singular but drop it in the accusative singular. Since tölvuleikur is the direct object here, it takes its accusative form tölvuleik.

Why is the adjective nýjan and not nýr, nýja, or nýtt?

Adjectives in Icelandic agree with their noun in gender, number, and case. Here tölvuleik is masculine singular in the accusative case, so the adjective nýr (nominative) must change to the accusative masculine singular form nýjan.

What case does the preposition eftir govern, and how does that affect kvöldmat?

Eftir is a preposition that always takes the accusative. The noun kvöldmatur (evening meal) in accusative singular drops its -ur to become kvöldmat. Thus eftir kvöldmat = after dinner.

Why is the adverbial phrase eftir kvöldmat placed at the end of the sentence?

Neutral Icelandic word order is Subject–Verb–Object, with time/place adverbials usually following the object. You can front eftir kvöldmat for emphasis, but then the finite verb must still appear second (the V2 rule): E.g. Eftir kvöldmat spilum við nýjan tölvuleik.

Can I insert eftir kvöldmat between the verb and the object, like við spilum eftir kvöldmat nýjan tölvuleik?

No. Icelandic enforces the V2 word order: whichever element you start with, the finite verb must be second. Adverbials do not split the verb–object pair in a neutral sentence.

Why is the present tense spilum used to talk about something that will happen after dinner?

Icelandic commonly uses the present tense to express near-future actions when accompanied by a time adverbial. For a more explicit future, you could say við munum spila, but it’s usually unnecessary here.

If I want to say we’re playing the new computer game (a specific one we’ve already mentioned), how would I change the sentence?

You’d make the noun definite and use the weak adjective form: Við spilum nýja tölvuleikinn eftir kvöldmat
Here tölvuleikinn is the accusative definite (drop -ur, add -inn), and nýja is the weak accusative masculine singular adjective.

Can you omit the subject pronoun við, since spilum already shows it’s “we”?

No. Unlike languages that freely drop subjects, Icelandic normally requires the pronoun. The verb ending alone isn’t enough to omit við in standard speech or writing.

How is the compound word tölvuleikur formed?

It’s a compound of tölva (computer) in its genitive stem tölvu- plus leikur (game). Icelandic often builds new nouns by combining the genitive or stem of the first word with the second word.