Ég þarf að skanna skjalið áður en ég sendi það.

Þarf is the 1st person singular present form of þurfa, which means to need or to have to.

So:

• ég þarf = I need
• að skanna = to scan

The að here is the infinitive marker, like English to in to scan. So ég þarf að skanna literally matches I need to scan.

Yes. Skanna is a normal modern Icelandic verb, borrowed from English scan but adapted to Icelandic spelling and grammar.

For example:

• að skanna = to scan
• ég skanna = I scan
• við skönnum = we scan

So even though its origin is foreign, it behaves like an Icelandic verb.

In Icelandic, the definite article the is usually attached to the end of the noun.

So:

• skjal = document
• skjalið = the document

This noun is neuter singular, and the ending -ið is the attached definite article here.

That is very common in Icelandic:

• hús = house
• húsið = the house

Because skjal is a neuter noun, and Icelandic pronouns must agree with the noun’s grammatical gender.

So:

• skjal is neuter
• therefore it = það

This is about grammar, not natural gender. Icelandic often uses hann / hún / það based on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, or neuter.

Because senda is the infinitive: to send.

But here you need a finite verb with the subject ég:

• ég sendi = I send / I am sending

So in the clause áður en ég sendi það, sendi is the correct 1st person singular present form.

Compare:

• að senda = to send
• ég sendi = I send

Áður en means before when it introduces a clause.

So:

• áður en ég sendi það = before I send it

It is best learned as a fixed expression here:

• áður = before / earlier
• en = part of the conjunction in this expression

So don’t translate en by itself here as but. In this sentence, áður en works together as before.

Yes. Icelandic often uses the present tense in time clauses even when the meaning is future.

So:

• áður en ég sendi það literally uses present tense
• but in meaning it is before I send it

English does the same thing:

• before I send it
• not usually before I will send it

So this part is actually quite similar in the two languages.

Both are direct objects, so they are in the accusative case.

• skanna skjalið → skjalið is the object of skanna
• sendi það → það is the object of sendi

In this sentence, the forms do not visibly change much because:

• many neuter singular nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative
• það is also the same in nominative and accusative singular neuter

So the case is accusative, even though the form looks familiar.

Because áður en introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses usually have normal subject + verb order:

• ég sendi það

In Icelandic, main clauses often follow V2 word order, but subordinate clauses are different.

So:

• main clause example: Í dag sendi ég það. = Today I send it.
• subordinate clause here: áður en ég sendi það = before I send it

That is why ég comes before sendi.

A useful quick guide is:

• þ = like th in think
• ð = like th in this

So in this sentence:

• þarf
• það

both begin with the think sound.

And in áður, the ð is the voiced th sound, though in natural speech it can be quite soft.

These two letters are very common in Icelandic, so it is worth getting used to them early.