Við reynum að flokka sorpið heima, því við viljum endurnýta það sem við getum.

Við means we.

Reynum is the 1st person plural present form of reyna = to try.

So Við reynum literally means we try.

A useful pattern is:

• ég reyni = I try
• þú reynir = you try
• við reynum = we try

So the sentence starts with a very common Icelandic structure: subject + present-tense verb.

After reyna (to try), Icelandic normally uses að + infinitive.

So:

• reyna að gera eitthvað = to try to do something

Here:

• að flokka = to sort

So:

• Við reynum að flokka sorpið = We try to sort the trash

This is very similar to English try to sort.

Flokka is the infinitive of a verb meaning to sort, classify, or separate into categories.

In this sentence, it means to sort waste/recycling.

Examples:

• flokka bækur = sort books
• flokka sorp = sort trash/waste

So að flokka sorpið is the natural way to say to sort the trash/waste.

Sorp means trash / waste.

Sorpið means the trash / the waste. The ending -ið is the definite article, attached to the noun.

Icelandic usually adds the to the end of the word instead of using a separate word like English.

So:

• sorp = trash, waste
• sorpið = the trash, the waste

In this sentence, sorpið is the object of flokka, so it means sort the trash.

It is accusative singular.

That is because flokka takes a direct object, and the direct object is often in the accusative.

The noun is:

• sorp = a neuter noun

For many neuter nouns, the nominative and accusative singular look the same, and with the definite article you get sorpið.

So even though the form looks simple, grammatically it is functioning as the accusative direct object.

Heima means at home.

It describes where the action happens:

• Við reynum að flokka sorpið heima = We try to sort the trash at home

This is a very common Icelandic word. Compare:

• heima = at home
• heim = homeward / to home in some expressions

So here heima is correct because the meaning is location, not motion.

Here því means because.

So the sentence is divided into two parts:

• Við reynum að flokka sorpið heima = We try to sort the trash at home
• því við viljum endurnýta... = because we want to recycle/reuse...

In modern Icelandic, því can introduce a reason clause, especially in everyday language.

You may also see:

• því að
• af því að

All of these can mean because, though af því að is often especially clear and common in speech.

Because the second clause has its own subject.

The sentence has two clauses:

1. Við reynum að flokka sorpið heima
2. því við viljum endurnýta það sem við getum

Even though English also repeats we in this kind of sentence, learners sometimes expect Icelandic to drop it more often. But here repeating við is normal and natural.

It clearly marks the subject of the second clause:

• við viljum = we want

Because after vilja (to want), Icelandic normally uses the infinitive without að.

So:

• vilja gera eitthvað = want to do something

Examples:

• Ég vil fara = I want to go
• Við viljum endurnýta = We want to recycle/reuse

This is an important contrast:

• reyna að flokka = try to sort
• vilja endurnýta = want to recycle/reuse

So some Icelandic verbs are followed by að + infinitive, while others take a bare infinitive.

Endurnýta means to reuse or to recycle, depending on context.

Literally, it is built from elements suggesting use again / renew use. In a sentence about waste sorting, it naturally means something like:

• reuse
• recycle
• make use of again

So við viljum endurnýta það means we want to reuse/recycle it.

The exact English word depends on context, but the general idea is giving something a new use instead of throwing it away.

Það sem means what or that which.

In this sentence:

• það sem við getum = what we can / that which we can

So the phrase means:

• endurnýta það sem við getum = reuse/recycle what we can

This is a very common Icelandic structure.

Examples:

• Segðu mér það sem þú veist = Tell me what you know
• Taktu það sem þú vilt = Take what you want

So here það is not just a simple standalone it. Together with sem, it creates a relative expression meaning what / that which.

Because Icelandic often puts the finite verb later in a subordinate clause.

The part sem við getum is a relative/subordinate clause:

• sem = that / which / what
• við getum = we can

So:

• það sem við getum = what we can

This word order is normal in Icelandic. In a main clause, Icelandic usually follows verb-second word order, but subordinate clauses are more flexible and often look more like this.

So the placement of getum is not strange—it is exactly what you should expect in a clause introduced by sem.

Getum is the 1st person plural present of geta = can / be able to.

So:

• ég get = I can
• þú getur = you can
• við getum = we can

In the sentence:

• það sem við getum = what we can

It refers to what is possible for us to reuse/recycle.

Yes, in sense it does.

Sorpið is a neuter singular noun, so það is the natural pronoun to refer to it.

But in the full phrase það sem við getum, það is also part of the fixed structure meaning what / that which.

So you can think of it in two helpful ways at once:

1. it connects back to the trash/waste
2. together with sem, it forms the expression what we can

That is why the Icelandic sounds a little more literal than English if you break it apart word by word.

A very literal version would be something like:

We try to sort the-trash at-home, because we want reuse that which we can.

That is not natural English, but it helps show the Icelandic structure:

• Við = we
• reynum að flokka = try to sort
• sorpið = the trash
• heima = at home
• því = because
• við viljum = we want
• endurnýta = reuse / recycle
• það sem við getum = what we can

Literal breakdowns are useful for grammar, even when the natural translation is smoother.

These two letters often confuse English speakers.

• þ is like th in thing
• ð is like th in this

So in this sentence:

• því starts with the thing sound
• það also starts with the thing sound
• við ends with the this sound

Very roughly:

• því ≈ thvee
• það ≈ thath
• við ≈ vith (with the th of this, not thing)

The exact pronunciation depends on surrounding sounds and natural Icelandic speech, but this is a good starting point.

This sentence is great for learning several high-frequency patterns:

1. reyna að + infinitive

   • Við reynum að flokka
   • We try to sort

2. vilja + infinitive

   • við viljum endurnýta
   • we want to reuse/recycle

3. það sem + clause

   • það sem við getum
   • what we can

4. noun + attached definite article

   • sorp → sorpið
   • trash → the trash

If you remember those patterns, you can build many similar Icelandic sentences.