Hléið er stutt, svo við drekkum vatn strax.

Because -ið is the definite article attached to the noun.

• hlé = a break / break
• hléið = the break

In Icelandic, the word for the is usually added to the end of the noun instead of written as a separate word.

So:

• hlé → break
• hléið → the break

That makes Hléið er stutt literally The break is short.

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case.

The noun hlé is neuter singular, so the adjective also takes the neuter singular form:

• masculine: stuttur
• feminine: stutt
• neuter: stutt

So:

• hlé is neuter
• therefore stutt is the correct form

This is a very common feature of Icelandic: adjectives change form depending on the noun they describe.

You usually learn the gender as part of the noun’s vocabulary entry. In dictionaries or textbooks, Icelandic nouns are often marked as:

• m. = masculine
• f. = feminine
• n. = neuter

hlé is a neuter noun.

There are some patterns that help, but you cannot always guess gender with certainty, so it is best to memorize nouns together with their gender.

A useful habit is to learn new nouns as a small bundle:

• hlé (n.) = break
• stutt hlé = a short break
• hléið = the break

Here svo means so, in the sense of therefore / as a result.

The sentence structure is:

• Hléið er stutt = the break is short
• svo við drekkum vatn strax = so we drink water right away

In Icelandic, svo can have several meanings depending on context, including:

• so / therefore
• then
• sometimes part of other expressions

In this sentence, it links the two ideas: the break is short, so we act immediately.

Because drekkum is the correct present-tense form of the verb drekka for við (we).

The verb drekka = to drink changes according to the subject:

• ég drekk = I drink
• þú drekkur = you drink
• við drekkum = we drink

So:

• við = we
• drekkum = drink for we

This is normal Icelandic verb conjugation: the verb changes depending on who is doing the action.

That is a very good question, because Icelandic word order can be tricky.

With svo meaning so / therefore, both patterns can appear in real Icelandic depending on style and sentence structure, but svo við drekkum vatn strax is a straightforward way to continue the statement with we drink water right away.

A learner-friendly way to understand this sentence is:

• first clause: Hléið er stutt
• second clause: við drekkum vatn strax
• svo connects them: so

In other words, here svo is functioning more like a connector between two clauses, and the second clause keeps normal subject-verb order:

• við drekkum

You will also meet cases in Icelandic where another element comes first and the verb moves into second position. Word order is something worth watching carefully as you learn more examples.

It is in the accusative case, because drekka normally takes a direct object in the accusative.

So in:

• við drekkum vatn

vatn is the thing being drunk, so it is the direct object.

However, there is one small complication: vatn is a neuter noun whose nominative and accusative singular forms look the same. So even though it is accusative here, its form is still vatn.

This is very common in Icelandic: sometimes the case is clear from grammar even when the noun form does not visibly change.

Because the sentence is talking about water in a general sense, not the water in particular.

So:

• vatn = water
• vatnið = the water

In this sentence, við drekkum vatn strax means we drink water right away, not necessarily we drink the water right away.

Icelandic often leaves nouns indefinite in places where English also does:

• drekka vatn = drink water
• borða mat = eat food

If the speaker meant a specific water already known in the situation, they might use vatnið instead.

Strax usually means immediately, right away, or at once.

So við drekkum vatn strax gives the idea that we do it without delay.

It is stronger than just now in many contexts. Compare:

• núna = now
• strax = right away / immediately

So strax emphasizes urgency or promptness.

A learner may find hléið tricky because of both the beginning and the ending.

A rough guide:

• hl at the start is a special Icelandic sound. The h is not silent; it affects the l. English does not really have this exact sound.
• é is like ye in many descriptions, so hlé is roughly something like hlye
• -ið at the end is the attached definite article for this noun

So hléið is roughly something like HLYE-ith or HLYEYITH, though no English spelling matches it perfectly.

The best approach is to listen to native audio and imitate it, especially for:

• hl
• é
• ð in endings like -ið

Er is the present singular form of the verb vera (to be) used with he/she/it and many singular noun subjects.

So here:

• Hléið er stutt = The break is short

because hléið is a singular thing, so Icelandic uses er.

Some common forms of vera are:

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann/hún/það er = he/she/it is
• við erum = we are

So er is not the only form of to be, but it is the one that fits this subject.

Yes. The Icelandic present tense can often cover both:

• a general/habitual meaning: we drink water right away
• a present-situation meaning: we are drinking water right away / we drink water now

Icelandic does not usually have a separate verb form exactly like the English be + -ing progressive.

So við drekkum can mean:

• we drink
• we are drinking

The exact sense depends on context. In this sentence, because of strax and the situation described, most learners will naturally understand it as an immediate action in the present situation.