Ég les umsögn um fyrirtækið áður en ég sæki um starfið.

Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like English a/an. So umsögn by itself can mean a review or just review, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• les umsögn = read a review

If Icelandic wants to make a noun definite, it usually adds the article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

That -ið is the suffixed definite article, meaning the.

So:

• fyrirtæki = company
• fyrirtækið = the company
• starf = job
• starfið = the job

Both fyrirtæki and starf are neuter nouns, and in the singular the definite form often ends in -ið.

The preposition um normally takes the accusative case.

So in this sentence:

• um fyrirtækið = about the company
• sækja um starfið = apply for the job

A useful thing to notice is that for many neuter singular nouns, the nominative and accusative forms look the same. So even though these are accusative here, they happen to look identical to the dictionary form with the article attached.

It is the same word, but it has different functions in the two expressions.

1. umsögn um fyrirtækið

   • here um means about/concerning

2. sækja um starfið

   • here sækja um is a fixed verb expression meaning apply for

So the second um is part of the verb phrase, not just a freely chosen preposition.

Sækja is the infinitive, meaning to apply / to seek / to attend, depending on context.

In the sentence, the verb must match ég (I) and the present tense, so it becomes:

• ég sæki = I apply

So:

• sækja = infinitive, to apply
• sæki = 1st person singular present, I apply

This vowel change is just part of how this verb is conjugated.

After áður en (before), Icelandic often uses the subjunctive when the action in the subordinate clause is still future, expected, or not yet realized at the time of the main action.

Here the meaning is roughly:

• I read a review about the company before I apply for the job

The applying happens later, so Icelandic commonly uses:

• áður en ég sæki um starfið

This is a very common pattern. Learners often meet áður en + subjunctive in sentences about something that will happen afterward.

Yes. Áður en is a set expression meaning before when it introduces a clause.

Compare:

• áður = earlier / before
• en = than or a conjunction in some structures

But together:

• áður en ég sæki um starfið = before I apply for the job

So it is best to learn áður en as a unit.

Because áður en introduces a subordinate clause, and the normal order in that clause is:

• conjunction + subject + verb

So:

• áður en ég sæki um starfið

This is different from main-clause word order in Icelandic, where the finite verb is often in second position.

So the sentence has:

1. Main clause: Ég les umsögn um fyrirtækið
2. Subordinate clause: áður en ég sæki um starfið

Here ég is normally repeated because the second clause has its own verb, sæki.

So Icelandic says:

• Ég les ... áður en ég sæki ...

Just like English usually says:

• I read ... before I apply ...

Leaving out the second ég would sound incomplete or ungrammatical in standard Icelandic.

The nouns are:

• umsögn — feminine
• fyrirtæki — neuter
• starf — neuter

This matters because gender affects articles, adjectives, pronouns, and sometimes case forms.

For example:

• fyrirtækið and starfið both use the neuter singular definite ending -ið

Umsögn often means review, opinion, assessment, or comment, depending on context.

So in different contexts it could refer to:

• a review of a company
• an evaluation
• a written opinion
• a recommendation or statement

In this sentence, review is a natural translation, but the Icelandic word can be a bit broader than English review.

Because of how the sentence is built:

• umsögn um fyrirtækið = a review about the company
• sækja um starfið = apply for the job

These are two separate chunks:

1. noun phrase:

   • umsögn um fyrirtækið

2. verb phrase:

   • sæki um starfið

This is something learners often need to get used to in Icelandic: the same preposition can appear more than once in a sentence, but attach to different words or expressions.

A rough learner-friendly guide:

• Ég sounds approximately like yegg with a very light g, though exact pronunciation varies.
• les sounds roughly like less.
• fyrirtækið is challenging; roughly FI-ri(r)-tai-kith.
• sæki sounds roughly SIGH-kih or SAI-kih, depending on how detailed you want to be with Icelandic vowel quality.

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• æ is not like English a in cat; it is closer to eye / ai in many learner approximations.
• ð is often like th in this, though at the end of a word it may be weaker.
• ll, nn, hv, and other combinations can also behave differently in Icelandic, so listening to native audio is very helpful.

Yes. Icelandic can also put the before clause first:

• Áður en ég sæki um starfið les ég umsögn um fyrirtækið.

That is also natural. When a subordinate clause comes first, the main clause still follows Icelandic word-order rules, so the finite verb comes early in the main clause:

• ... les ég ...

That kind of word order is very common in Icelandic.