Við borðum kvöldmat rétt áður en við förum í bíó.

Borðum is the 1st person plural present form of borða (to eat).

Icelandic verbs change form depending on person and number. Since the subject is við (we), the verb has to match it:

• ég borða = I eat
• við borðum = we eat

So Við borðum literally means we eat.

Because kvöldmat is the accusative form, and here it is the direct object of borðum.

The dictionary form is kvöldmatur (dinner / evening meal), but after a verb like borða (to eat), Icelandic uses the accusative:

• kvöldmatur = nominative
• kvöldmat = accusative

So:

• Við borðum kvöldmat = We eat dinner

This is a very common pattern in Icelandic: the form of the noun changes depending on its role in the sentence.

Here rétt does not mean correct. It means right, just, or exactly.

In rétt áður en, it strengthens the time expression:

• áður en = before
• rétt áður en = right before / just before

So rétt is acting like an adverb here, not an adjective meaning correct.

Because áður en is the normal way to say before when it is followed by a full clause with its own subject and verb.

Here the clause is:

• við förum í bíó = we go to the movies

So Icelandic uses:

• áður en við förum í bíó = before we go to the movies

A useful way to remember it:

• áður en + clause = before + clause
• áður by itself = earlier / before

So áður en works a lot like a conjunction here.

Förum is the 1st person plural present form of fara (to go).

So:

• ég fer = I go
• við förum = we go

Many learners notice that the vowel changes from a in fara to ö in förum. That is just part of the verb’s normal pattern. Fara is an irregular/common verb, so it does not behave in a completely predictable way from the infinitive alone.

Í bíó is a very common Icelandic expression meaning to the cinema, to the movies, or sometimes at the movies, depending on the verb and context.

With fara (to go), it means:

• fara í bíó = go to the movies / go to the cinema

This is an idiomatic expression, so it is best learned as a chunk.

The preposition í is the normal one used here. Very roughly, it is like in/into/to, but in this expression you should mainly think of the whole phrase fara í bíó as a set phrase.

Because Icelandic often leaves things indefinite when speaking generally, and these two expressions are both very natural without the definite article.

• borða kvöldmat = eat dinner
• fara í bíó = go to the movies / go to the cinema

This is similar to English, where we also often say eat dinner without the.

If you wanted to make dinner definite, Icelandic could do that:

• kvöldmatinn = the dinner

But in this sentence, the general idea eat dinner before going out is the natural one.

Yes. Icelandic often uses the present tense for things that are habitual, planned, or about to happen, especially in time clauses.

So við förum í bíó can naturally mean we go to the movies or we’re going to the movies, depending on context.

English does something similar in sentences like:

• We eat dinner before we go to the movies

  We do not normally say before we will go there, and Icelandic works similarly.

Yes. You can move the time phrase to the front:

• Rétt áður en við förum í bíó borðum við kvöldmat.

That still means the same thing.

But notice an important Icelandic word-order rule: when something other than the subject comes first, the finite verb usually comes next. So you get:

• borðum við

  not

• við borðum

This is part of Icelandic’s verb-second pattern.

Yes, normally you do.

In áður en við förum í bíó, the part after áður en is a full clause, and full clauses normally include their own subject. So repeating við is the normal and correct way to say it.

That is why the sentence has:

• Við borðum ...
• ... áður en við förum ...

Even though the subject is the same in both parts, Icelandic still states it again here.