Þó að það sé kalt, fer ég samt út.

Þó að introduces a concessive clause — a clause meaning although / even though.

So in this sentence:

• Þó að það sé kalt = Although it is cold
• fer ég samt út = I still go out

It sets up a contrast: one fact is true, but the main action happens anyway.

Sé is the present subjunctive form of vera (to be).

• er = present indicative, is
• sé = present subjunctive, roughly also be / is, but used in certain clause types

After þó að, standard Icelandic often uses the subjunctive, especially in more careful or formal language. That is why you get:

• þó að það sé kalt

rather than:

• þó að það er kalt

A learner should recognize sé as a very common form because vera is irregular and its subjunctive forms appear often.

You may hear the indicative in some real-life speech, but the standard form learners should use is:

• Þó að það sé kalt

So for learning and writing, it is best to treat þó að as a trigger for the subjunctive here.

This is because Icelandic is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• Þó að það sé kalt

After that, the main clause starts. In Icelandic main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in the second position, so you get:

• fer ég samt út

not:

• ég fer samt út

The same thing happens in many other Icelandic sentences when something else comes first:

• Í dag fer ég út. = Today I go out.

So the fronted clause takes the first slot, and then the verb fer comes next.

Samt means something like still, anyway, or all the same.

It reinforces the contrast:

• Þó að það sé kalt, fer ég samt út. = Although it’s cold, I still go out.

It is not always strictly necessary for the sentence to make sense, because þó að already gives the contrast. But samt makes the meaning more explicit and natural.

Compare:

• Þó að það sé kalt, fer ég út.
• Þó að það sé kalt, fer ég samt út.

Both are possible, but the second one emphasizes despite that fact more clearly.

The það here is the same kind of dummy subject as English it in:

• It is cold

Icelandic usually says:

• Það er kalt = It is cold

And in the subjunctive:

• Það sé kalt

So það does not refer to a specific thing. It just fills the subject position, just like English it in weather and general-condition expressions.

Fer is the present tense, 1st/3rd person singular form of fara (to go).

In this sentence:

• ég fer = I go

Even though fer can also mean he/she/it goes, the subject ég tells you it means I go here.

This is normal in Icelandic: some verb forms are shared across different persons.

This is a very common and important distinction.

• út = out / outward → movement
• úti = outside / outdoors → location

Here the speaker is going out, so movement is involved:

• fer ég samt út = I still go out

If you wanted to say someone is outside, you would use úti:

• Ég er úti. = I am outside.

So:

• fara út = go out
• vera úti = be outside

Yes. Icelandic allows that very naturally.

You can also say:

• Ég fer samt út þó að það sé kalt.

That means the same thing. The difference is mostly about focus and style:

• Þó að það sé kalt, fer ég samt út.
  starts with the contrast condition
• Ég fer samt út þó að það sé kalt.
  starts with the main action

Both are good Icelandic.

When the subordinate clause comes first, Icelandic normally writes a comma before the main clause:

• Þó að það sé kalt, fer ég samt út.

So yes, this punctuation is standard and expected here.

If the subordinate clause comes after the main clause, punctuation may be lighter depending on style:

• Ég fer samt út þó að það sé kalt.

Learners should definitely keep the comma in the original sentence pattern.

The letter þ is called thorn. It is pronounced like the th in English thing, not like the th in this.

So:

• Þó starts with the thing sound
• það also starts with that same sound

Very roughly:

• Þó að ≈ tho ath
• það ≈ thath
• sé ≈ syeh
• fer ≈ fehr

The exact pronunciation takes practice, but the key point is:

• þ = voiceless th as in thing

In this sentence, learners should treat þó að as a fixed conjunction meaning although / even though.

Historically and grammatically the parts have their own identities, but for practical learning it is best to memorize:

• þó að + subjunctive clause

as a pattern.

That will help you produce sentences like:

• Þó að það rigni, fer ég út.
• Þó að ég sé þreyttur, vinn ég samt.

So yes, the two words are separate, but in use they function together as one linking expression.