Við finnum ekki strætóinn sem við þurfum, svo við tökum leigubíl á fundinn.

Because Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun.

• strætó = a bus / bus
• strætóinn = the bus

So strætóinn sem við þurfum means the bus that we need.

This is very common in Icelandic:

• bíll = car
• bíllinn = the car
• fundur = meeting
• fundurinn = the meeting

In this sentence, strætóinn is also in the accusative singular, because it is the object of finnum.

In normal Icelandic main-clause word order, the negation ekki usually comes after the finite verb.

So:

• Við finnum ekki = We do not find / We can’t find

This is the usual pattern:

• subject + finite verb + ekki

Examples:

• Ég veit ekki. = I don’t know.
• Hann kemur ekki. = He isn’t coming.

Putting ekki before the verb is generally not the normal neutral word order.

Sem introduces a relative clause, like that, which, or who in English.

So:

• strætóinn sem við þurfum = the bus that we need

It connects the noun strætóinn to the extra information við þurfum.

A few more examples:

• maðurinn sem talar = the man who is speaking
• bókin sem ég las = the book that I read

In Icelandic, sem is the standard relative word in sentences like this.

Because the object is already understood from the relative clause.

In English, we say:

• the bus that we need

We do not say:

• the bus that we need it

The same idea applies in Icelandic:

• strætóinn sem við þurfum

The noun strætóinn is the thing being needed, so there is no extra pronoun after þurfum.

Þurfum is the 1st person plural present tense of þurfa = to need.

So:

• ég þarf = I need
• við þurfum = we need

In the sentence:

• sem við þurfum = that we need

The subject is við = we, so the verb has to match that subject.

Because leigubíl is the accusative singular form, and taka usually takes a direct object in the accusative.

• nominative: leigubíll = taxi
• accusative: leigubíl = taxi (as object)

So:

• Við tökum leigubíl. = We take a taxi.

This is a very common Icelandic pattern:

• Ég sé hund. = I see a dog.
• Við kaupum bíl. = We buy a car.

The object changes form depending on case.

Because here it means a taxi, not the taxi.

Compare:

• leigubíl = a taxi (indefinite, accusative singular)
• leigubílinn = the taxi (definite, accusative singular)

So:

• við tökum leigubíl = we take a taxi
• við tökum leigubílinn = we take the taxi

Icelandic often leaves an indefinite noun without any article, unlike English, which requires a/an.

Because Icelandic often uses:

• accusative after a preposition when there is movement toward something
• dative when there is location at something

Here, á fundinn means to the meeting or onto/into the meeting situation, so it uses the accusative.

Compare:

• Við förum á fundinn. = We go to the meeting.
• Við erum á fundi. = We are at a meeting / in a meeting.

So the difference is roughly:

• á fundinn = motion toward
• á fundi = being there

Again, that -inn is the suffixed definite article: the.

• fundur = meeting
• fundinn = the meeting (accusative singular)

It is accusative here because it follows á in a motion sense: á fundinn = to the meeting.

So in this sentence, the meeting is a specific meeting that both speaker and listener already know about.

Yes, here svo means so, as in therefore / as a result.

The structure is:

• We can’t find the bus we need, so we take a taxi to the meeting.

In Icelandic, svo is very common in everyday speech for this kind of connection.

It can also have other meanings in other contexts, such as then or very/so, but in this sentence it clearly means so / therefore.

Because this is a new main clause after svo, and Icelandic allows a normal main-clause order here:

• við tökum leigubíl á fundinn

That is a straightforward subject-verb pattern:

• við = subject
• tökum = verb

If another element were placed first, then Icelandic would usually put the verb in second position. But here the clause simply starts with the subject.

Yes.

• finnum = find / are finding
• þurfum = need
• tökum = take

Icelandic present tense often corresponds to English simple present, but depending on context it can also sound natural in English as something more immediate:

• Við finnum ekki... can be understood as We can’t find...
• við tökum... can mean we take... or we’ll take..., depending on context

So the Icelandic present tense can sometimes cover slightly more ground than a strict word-for-word English present.

Here strætóinn is in the accusative singular.

You can tell from the sentence structure:

• Við finnum ekki strætóinn...
• the bus is the direct object of finnum

With this noun, the accusative definite form is also strætóinn, so it looks the same as the nominative definite form. That happens with some Icelandic nouns.

So even if the form looks familiar, its role in the sentence tells you the case:

• subject role → nominative
• direct object role → often accusative

Here it is the object, so accusative makes sense.