Geturðu kastað jakkanum mínum hingað? Ég reyndi að grípa glasið áðan, en það datt samt.

Geturðu is a very common contracted form of getur þú.

Two things are happening:

• In an Icelandic yes/no question, the finite verb usually comes first.
• In everyday speech and writing, þú often attaches to that verb as -ðu.

So:

• Getur þú ... ? = correct
• Geturðu ... ? = also correct, and very common

That is why the sentence begins with Geturðu rather than something more English-like such as Þú getur...?

Because these two verbs govern the next verb differently.

• After geta in this kind of meaning, Icelandic uses the supine form of the next verb.
• After reyna, Icelandic normally uses að + infinitive.

So here you get:

• geta kastað = can throw
• reyna að grípa = try to catch

For this verb:

• kasta = infinitive
• kastað = supine

For learners, this is worth memorizing as a pattern:

• ég get séð
• ég get farið
• ég get kastað

but:

• ég reyni að sjá
• ég reyni að fara
• ég reyni að kasta

This form is there for two reasons: case and word order.

First, kasta takes a dative object for the thing being thrown. So jakki changes form:

• jakki = jacket
• jakkanum = the jacket, dative singular

Second, the possessive pronoun has to agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Since jakkanum is masculine singular dative, minn becomes mínum.

So:

• jakkanum mínum = my jacket

As for position, Icelandic very often puts possessives after the noun in everyday phrases like this. So a very natural pattern is:

• noun + definite ending + possessive
• jakkanum mínum = literally something like jacket-the my

Because Icelandic usually adds the definite article as an ending on the noun instead of using a separate word.

Examples from this sentence:

• jakki = jacket

• jakkanum = the jacket, in dative singular

• glas = glass
• glasið = the glass

So where English uses a separate the, Icelandic often builds that meaning into the noun itself.

Because the two verbs take different object cases.

• kasta takes dative
• grípa takes accusative

So:

• jakkanum is dative because it goes with kasta
• glasið is accusative because it goes with grípa

This is one of the big things English speakers have to get used to in Icelandic: the form of the noun often depends on which verb it follows.

A useful comparison is:

• Ég kastaði glasinu = I threw the glass
• Ég greip glasið = I caught the glass

Here glasinu is dative, while glasið is accusative.

Hingað means to here or over here, so it implies movement toward the speaker.

Hér means here, in the sense of location.

So:

• hingað = direction toward this place
• hér = being in this place

That is why hingað is used with kastað. The jacket is moving toward the speaker.

A helpful trio to remember is:

• hér = here
• hingað = to here
• héðan = from here

They are related, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

• áðan usually means a little while ago / earlier
• áður is broader and often means before / previously / earlier than that

In this sentence, áðan suggests something like earlier a little while ago, not some distant past.

So:

• Ég reyndi að grípa glasið áðan = I tried to catch the glass earlier / a little while ago

If you used áður, the feeling would be less specifically just a little earlier and more generally before.

Here samt means something like:

• anyway
• all the same
• nevertheless
• still

So the idea is:

• I tried to catch the glass,
• but it fell anyway.

It adds the sense that the attempt did not change the result.

Because glas is a neuter noun, and Icelandic pronouns usually follow the noun’s grammatical gender.

So once glasið has been mentioned, it can be referred to as:

• það = it

This is normal even for inanimate things. Icelandic often works like this:

• masculine noun → hann
• feminine noun → hún
• neuter noun → það

Since glas is neuter, það is the expected pronoun.

Datt is the past tense of detta, which means to fall or to drop.

Important forms are:

• detta = to fall
• dettur = falls
• datt = fell
• dottið = fallen

You may also see falla and its past tense féll. Both verbs can relate to falling, but detta is very common for something dropping or falling down in an everyday, concrete sense. For a glass slipping and falling, datt sounds very natural.

So in this sentence:

• það datt samt = it fell anyway

is exactly the kind of situation where detta is commonly used.