Við tölum saman í pásunni.

Because tölum is the form that matches við (we) in the present tense.

The verb is að tala = to speak / to talk.
Its present-tense forms are:

• ég tala = I talk
• þú talar = you talk
• hann/hún/það talar = he/she/it talks
• við tölum = we talk
• þið talið = you (plural) talk
• þeir/þær/þau tala = they talk

So Við tölum means we talk / we are talking.

Notice that the vowel changes from a to ö in the við form. That is just part of how this verb is conjugated.

Saman means together.

So Við tölum saman is literally We talk together, which in natural English is often just We talk or We talk with each other.

In Icelandic, tala saman is a very common expression for talk together / talk to each other.

Yes, Við tölum í pásunni also works, but it is slightly less specific.

• Við tölum í pásunni = We talk during the break
• Við tölum saman í pásunni = We talk together / with each other during the break

Adding saman emphasizes that the people are talking to one another, not just speaking in general.

Because after í in this sentence, the noun is in the dative, and it also has the definite article attached.

The base noun is:

• pása = break, pause

The dative singular is:

• pásu

And the definite form (the break) in the dative singular is:

• pásunni

So:

• í pásu = during/in a break
• í pásunni = during/in the break

The preposition í can take either the accusative or the dative, depending on meaning.

A very common rule is:

• accusative = movement into something
• dative = location in something / being inside something

Here, í pásunni means something like in/during the break, so it is treated as a location/time setting, not movement. Therefore Icelandic uses the dative.

Compare:

• Ég fer í skólann = I go into the school (movement, accusative)
• Ég er í skólanum = I am in the school (location, dative)

The same kind of idea applies here.

Pásunni can be broken down like this:

• pása = break
• pásu = dative singular of pása
• pásunni = dative singular definite = the break

The ending -nni is part of the definite article attached to a feminine noun in this form.

Icelandic usually adds the onto the end of the noun rather than using a separate word like English the.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Icelandic simple present often covers both:

• we talk
• we are talking

So Við tölum saman í pásunni could mean:

• We talk together during the break (habitually)
• We are talking together during the break (right now / in this situation)

Context tells you which is meant.

This is a very normal Icelandic word order:

• Við = subject
• tölum = verb
• saman = adverb
• í pásunni = prepositional phrase expressing time

So the structure is basically:

Subject + Verb + Adverb + Time phrase

Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, but this version is natural and neutral.

You could also move parts around for emphasis in some contexts, but this is the straightforward form a learner should recognize first.

Yes. The verb að tala can correspond to both talk and speak in English, depending on context.

In this sentence, talk is usually the more natural translation because tala saman strongly suggests conversation with each other.

So:

• Við tölum saman = We talk together / We talk to each other

If you translated it as We speak together, it would still be understandable, but it sounds less natural in English.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker is:

• Við ≈ vith (with the th of this, not thin)
• tölum ≈ TUH-lum with an Icelandic ö sound that is not exactly English
• saman ≈ SAH-man
• í = ee
• pásunni ≈ PAU-suhn-nih

A few useful notes:

• ð in Við is like the th in this
• ö does not have an exact English equivalent
• á is pronounced like ow in now
• Stress in Icelandic usually falls on the first syllable

So the main stresses are on:

VIÐ TÖ-lum SA-man Í PÁ-sun-ni

Pása is a loanword, ultimately related to words like pause in other European languages.

That can make it easier to remember for English speakers. Even though it looks familiar, it still behaves like a normal Icelandic noun and has Icelandic case forms, such as:

• pása
• pásu
• pásunni

So it may be familiar in origin, but you still need to learn its Icelandic grammar.

Yes. That would also be correct, but it means something slightly different in emphasis.

• Við tölum saman í pásunni = We talk / are talking together during the break
• Við erum að tala saman í pásunni = We are talking together during the break

The vera að + infinitive construction is often used to emphasize an ongoing action, similar to the English progressive (are talking).

So if you specifically want to stress that the action is happening right now, Við erum að tala saman í pásunni is a good choice.