Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Við skoðum póstkortin í stofunni. - We look at the postcards in the living room.

Context normally decides which English translation is more natural. If you really want to stress the ongoing nature, you can also say Við erum að skoða póstkortin (literally we are to-look at the postcards), but Við skoðum póstkortin on its own is already fine for we are looking at the postcards.

Why is there no separate word for the before póstkortin?

In Icelandic, the definite article (the) is usually added as an ending on the noun instead of being a separate word.

póstkort – postcard / postcards (indefinite)
póstkortið – the postcard (singular definite)
póstkortin – the postcards (plural definite)

So póstkortin already includes the meaning the postcards. You do not say *hin póstkortin or add another word for the in front.

Is póstkortin singular or plural, and what case is it in?

póstkortin is plural definite:

Base form: póstkort (neuter)
Singular definite: póstkortið – the postcard
Plural definite: póstkortin – the postcards

In this sentence, póstkortin is the direct object of skoðum, so it is in the accusative plural.

For this kind of neuter noun, the nominative and accusative plural forms look the same, so you see the case mainly from the function in the sentence, not from a special ending.

Why does í stofunni mean in the living room? What is happening to stofa?

The noun is stofa (living room, feminine). Its basic singular forms are:

Nominative: stofa – a living room (subject form)
Dative: stofu – used after some prepositions, including í when it shows location

With the definite article (the), stofa becomes:

Nominative definite: stofan – the living room
Dative definite: stofunni – the living room (in, with, from, etc.)

So:

í takes the dative when it expresses location (in, inside).
Dative of stofa with the article is stofunni.

Therefore, í stofunni literally means in the living room (in + the-living-room‑DAT).

Why is it í stofunni and not á stofunni? Don’t both í and á mean in / on / at?

Both í and á can sometimes be translated as in / on / at, but they are used with different types of places and often follow fixed patterns.

For rooms inside a house (kitchen, living room, bedroom, etc.), Icelandic normally uses í:

í stofunni – in the living room
í eldhúsinu – in the kitchen
í herberginu – in the room

Á is used with many surfaces or open places (á borðinu – on the table, á Íslandi – in Iceland), but í stofunni is the natural phrase for in the living room.

Why is í followed by the dative here? Could it also take another case?

Yes, í can take either the dative or the accusative, with a difference in meaning:

í + dative → location (where something is)
- Við erum í stofunni – We are in the living room.
í + accusative → movement into (where something is going)
- Við förum í stofuna – We go into the living room.

In Við skoðum póstkortin í stofunni, í stofunni describes where the action is taking place, not movement into the room, so dative is used: stofunni.

Could the word order be different, like Í stofunni skoðum við póstkortin?

Yes. Icelandic word order is relatively flexible.

The neutral order is usually:

Subject – Verb – Object – Place
→ Við skoðum póstkortin í stofunni.

You can move elements to the front for emphasis or style, as long as the finite verb stays in second position:

Í stofunni skoðum við póstkortin.
Emphasis: In the living room is where we look at the postcards.
Póstkortin skoðum við í stofunni.
Emphasis: It is the postcards that we look at in the living room.

All of these are grammatically possible, but the original is the most neutral.

How would I say We look at a postcard in the living room instead of the postcards?

You need the singular indefinite for póstkort:

Við skoðum póstkort í stofunni. – We look at a postcard in the living room.

Here:

póstkort without an ending is a postcard / postcards (indefinite).
There is no separate word for a in Icelandic. Indefiniteness is shown by the lack of the definite ending (-ið, -in, etc.).

If you really want to stress it is one postcard, you could say:

Við skoðum eitt póstkort í stofunni. – We look at one postcard in the living room.

How is við pronounced, especially the letter ð?

Við is pronounced approximately like English vith in with, but with a voiced th sound at the end.

v – like English v in very
i – a short sound, similar to i in bit
ð – a voiced th, like th in this, that

So the whole word sounds close to vith (with a voiced final consonant), not like wid or vid.

Why doesn’t skoða need a preposition before póstkortin?

The verb skoða is a transitive verb that takes a direct object without a preposition, just like English to see / to look at / to examine (in the sense of to inspect).

So you say:

skoða póstkortin – look at the postcards / examine the postcards

You do not add a preposition like á or til in front of póstkortin here. The structure is simply:

við (subject) + skoðum (verb) + póstkortin (direct object).