Geturðu beðið í smástund?

Geturðu is a contraction of getur þú.

• getur = can / are able to for you singular
• þú = you singular

So Geturðu ... ? is the natural everyday way to say Can you ... ?

Icelandic often attaches þú to the verb in speech and also very commonly in writing:

• getur þú → geturðu
• ert þú → ertu
• hefur þú → hefurðu

You can also say Getur þú beðið í smástund? The meaning is the same, but Geturðu sounds more natural and conversational.

Because this is a yes/no question.

In Icelandic, yes/no questions usually put the finite verb first:

• Statement: Þú getur beðið í smástund.
• Question: Geturðu beðið í smástund?

This is similar to English:

• You can wait a moment.
• Can you wait a moment?

So the verb-first order is completely normal here.

This is one of the first things that surprises learners.

The dictionary form of the verb is að bíða = to wait.
But after geta in this kind of sentence, Icelandic uses the form beðið.

So:

• dictionary form: að bíða
• after geta: geta beðið

This form is often called the supine in English-language grammar descriptions of Icelandic.

So:

• Ég vil bíða. = I want to wait.
• Ég get beðið. = I can wait.

Also, bíða is a strong verb, so the vowel changes:

• bíða → beðið

That stem change is normal and has to be learned with the verb.

Because geta does not take að before the following verb in this construction.

Compare:

• Ég ætla að bíða. = I intend to wait.
• Ég vil bíða. = I want to wait.
• Ég get beðið. = I can wait.

So after geta, you do not put að there.

For an English speaker, it can feel strange because English uses to in the dictionary form, but Icelandic does not always use að where English uses to.

It literally means something like for a short moment or for a little while.

• smástund = a short while / a brief moment
• smá- = small / little
• stund = moment / while / period of time

So í smástund is a very natural Icelandic time expression meaning for a moment, for a little while, or just a short time.

Here smástund is in the accusative singular.

The preposition í can take different cases depending on meaning, but in expressions of duration/time span like this, it takes the accusative.

So in í smástund:

• í = a preposition used here in a time expression
• smástund = accusative singular

The form happens to look the same as the nominative, so you do not see a visible ending change here. That is very common in Icelandic.

Yes. Geturðu uses þú, so it is singular: you are speaking to one person.

To speak to more than one person, use þið and the plural verb:

• Getið þið beðið í smástund? = Can you all wait a moment?

If you are learning older or very formal Icelandic, you may also meet þér as a polite singular, but in modern everyday Icelandic that is not the normal choice.

Yes. It is a normal, natural, polite everyday request.

It is not extremely formal, but it is perfectly fine in ordinary conversation, in shops, on the phone, at work, and so on.

If you want to sound a little softer, Icelandic often adds small words such as:

• Geturðu beðið aðeins? = Can you wait a moment / a little bit?
• Geturðu beðið í smástund, takk? = Can you wait a moment, please?

So the sentence you have is already a good, useful, natural phrase.

These two letters are very important in Icelandic:

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

So:

• þú starts with the thing sound
• the ð in -ðu is the voiced this sound, though in fast speech it can be quite light

A helpful stress rule is that Icelandic words usually have stress on the first syllable:

• GE-turðu
• BE-ðið
• SMÁ-stund

You do not need to pronounce every sound heavily; in natural speech, Geturðu often flows together very smoothly.