Ég finn ekki hárburstann minn, svo ég spyr hana hvar hann er.

Because hárburstann is the definite accusative singular form of hárbursti (hairbrush).

In this sentence, finna (to find) takes a direct object, and that object is the hairbrush, so Icelandic uses the accusative:

• hárbursti = a hairbrush / hairbrush (dictionary form, nominative)
• hárburstann = the hairbrush (accusative)

Then minn means my, and it matches the noun in gender, number, and case. Since hárburstann is masculine singular accusative, the possessive is minn.

So:

• hárburstann minn = my hairbrush

In Icelandic, possessives like minn, þinn, sinn often come after the noun, especially in everyday usage.

So Icelandic commonly says:

• hárburstann minn = my hairbrush
• literally, something like the hairbrush mine

This is a very normal Icelandic pattern. English speakers often expect the possessive before the noun, but postposed possessives are extremely common in Icelandic.

Ekki means not, and in a simple main clause it usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• Ég finn ekki = I do not find / I can’t find

Compare:

• Ég sé ekki = I do not see
• Ég veit ekki = I do not know

This is different from English, which usually needs do in the present tense:

• English: I do not find
• Icelandic: Ég finn ekki

Because spyrja (to ask) takes the person being asked in the accusative.

The pronoun hún (she) changes like this:

• hún = she
• hana = her

So:

• ég spyr hana = I ask her

This is a very useful pattern to remember:

• spyrja einhvern = ask someone
• spyrja einhvern að einhverju can also occur in some contexts, but in basic usage the person asked is accusative

Because hann here refers to the grammatical gender of hárbursti, not biological sex.

In Icelandic, nouns are grammatically masculine, feminine, or neuter.
Hárbursti is a masculine noun, so when you refer back to it with a pronoun, you use hann.

So:

• hárbursti = masculine noun
• therefore: hann = it / literally masculine he

In English, we say it for objects. In Icelandic, the pronoun must match the noun’s grammatical gender.

Because this is an embedded question (also called an indirect question).

In a direct question, you would say:

• Hvar er hann? = Where is it?

But after a verb like spyr (ask), Icelandic normally uses statement word order inside the subordinate clause:

• ég spyr hana hvar hann er = I ask her where it is

So the pattern is:

• direct question: Hvar er hann?
• indirect question: ... hvar hann er

This is very similar to English:

• direct: Where is it?
• indirect: I ask her where it is.

Here svo means so or therefore.

It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• Ég finn ekki hárburstann minn = I can’t find my hairbrush
• svo ég spyr hana... = so I ask her...

So the whole structure is:

• X, svo Y = X, so Y

Depending on context, svo can also have other meanings in Icelandic, but here it is simply a connector meaning so.

Because the sentence joins two clauses:

• Ég finn ekki hárburstann minn
• svo ég spyr hana hvar hann er

In Icelandic, commas are often used to separate clauses like this. You will see this kind of punctuation quite a lot in normal writing.

Finn is the 1st person singular present tense of finna (to find).

Present tense:

• ég finn = I find
• þú finnur = you find
• hann/hún/það finnur = he/she/it finds
• við finnum = we find
• þið finnið = you (plural) find
• þeir/þær/þau finna = they find

So in the sentence:

• Ég finn ekki... = I do not find... / I can’t find...

Spyr is the 1st person singular present tense of spyrja (to ask).

Common present tense forms:

• ég spyr = I ask
• þú spyrð = you ask
• hann/hún/það spyr = he/she/it asks
• við spyrjum = we ask
• þið spyrjið = you (plural) ask
• þeir/þær/þau spyrja = they ask

So:

• ég spyr hana = I ask her

Because Icelandic usually expresses the as a suffix attached to the noun.

So instead of a separate word, Icelandic often adds the definite article to the end of the noun:

• hárbursti = hairbrush / a hairbrush
• hárburstinn = the hairbrush (nominative)
• hárburstann = the hairbrush (accusative)

This is one of the biggest differences from English. English has:

• the hairbrush

Icelandic often has:

• hairbrush-the

But the ending changes depending on case and gender, which is why you see -ann here.

Not here. Although hann can mean he, in this sentence it really means it, because it refers to hárbursti (hairbrush), which is a masculine noun.

So:

• hvar hann er = where it is

This is a very common thing in Icelandic:
pronouns for objects are chosen by grammatical gender, not by natural gender.

No, not in a normal sentence like this. Icelandic usually requires an explicit subject pronoun here.

So you need:

• hvar hann er = where it is

You cannot normally drop hann the way some languages allow subject pronouns to be omitted. Icelandic generally keeps them.