Geturðu kíkt á þetta áður en ég sendi það?

It is the common combined form of getur þú, meaning can you.

In Icelandic, þú often gets attached to the verb in direct questions:

• geturðu = getur þú
• viltu = vilt þú
• sérðu = sér þú

So Geturðu... ? is a very normal way to start a question.

It is talking to one person.

That is because -ðu comes from þú, the singular you.

If you were speaking to more than one person, you would say:

• Getið þið kíkt á þetta áður en ég sendi það?

Modern Icelandic usually does not have a separate everyday formal you like French or German, so singular þú is normal in most situations.

This is one of the things that often surprises learners.

After geta in this kind of sentence, Icelandic normally uses the form kíkt, not kíkja. You can think of it as the verb form Icelandic wants after geta here.

Other common examples are:

• Geturðu hjálpað mér? = Can you help me?
• Ég get farið á morgun. = I can go tomorrow.
• Hún getur lesið þetta. = She can read this.

So Geturðu kíkt... ? is the normal pattern.

Here kíkja á means something like:

• take a look at
• check
• look over

By itself, kíkja can have meanings like peek or drop by, but kíkja á is a very common expression for checking or looking at something.

So kíkja á þetta is a natural way to say take a look at this.

It is part of the expression kíkja á.

You should learn kíkja á as a unit, much like an English phrasal expression such as look at or check over. The á here is not just a random extra word; it belongs with the verb.

So:

• kíkja á eitthvað = to take a look at something

Here þetta means this and it is neuter singular.

With kíkja á, the thing being looked at is normally in the accusative, and þetta is the accusative form here.

In neuter singular, the nominative and accusative look the same, so you see þetta either way.

A useful contrast is:

• þetta = nominative/accusative neuter singular
• þessu = dative neuter singular

Because the sentence first introduces the thing as this, and then refers back to it as it.

• þetta = this
• það = it

So the logic is:

• Can you look at this before I send it?

Both are neuter singular here.

Also, when Icelandic does not name the object with a noun, neuter is very often the default. If you used an actual noun with a grammatical gender, the later pronoun would match that gender:

• Geturðu kíkt á þessa skýrslu áður en ég sendi hana?
  • skýrslu is feminine, so later you get hana

Áður en means before when it introduces a clause.

So:

• áður en ég sendi það = before I send it

The two parts do slightly different jobs:

• áður = earlier / before
• en = introduces the following clause

So you can think of áður en as a set expression meaning before + a full clause.

Because áður en introduces a subordinate clause, and the normal clause here is:

• ég sendi það = I send it

In other words, after áður en, you simply get the clause I send it.

The main question part is the beginning:

• Geturðu kíkt á þetta... ?

That is where the question structure shows up. The part after áður en is just the before I send it part.

In form, sendi can be tricky, because for verbs like senda, the written form sendi can match more than one tense depending on context.

But in this sentence, it clearly means present with future meaning:

• áður en ég sendi það = before I send it

That is very normal in Icelandic. After time expressions like before, when, after, Icelandic often uses the present tense where English also talks about the future:

• áður en ég fer = before I go
• þegar hún kemur = when she comes

So even though the event is still in the future, the present tense is expected.

Usually, yes, if you want to say send it clearly and naturally.

• áður en ég sendi það sounds complete and normal.

If the context were extremely obvious, speakers might sometimes leave it out in casual speech, but keeping það is the safest and most natural choice.

It is perfectly normal and polite for everyday use.

Geturðu... ? is a common friendly way to ask Can you... ?

If you want to sound a little softer, Icelandic often uses gætirðu:

• Gætirðu kíkt á þetta áður en ég sendi það?

That is closer to English Could you take a look at this before I send it?

So:

• Geturðu... ? = normal, direct, friendly
• Gætirðu... ? = a bit softer or more polite