Getið þér svarað skriflega?

Here þér is a polite/formal singular you. It is used when speaking respectfully to one person.

A few important points:

• It is much more formal than þú.
• In modern everyday Icelandic, þú is far more common.
• þér can sound official, old-fashioned, or very courteous, depending on context.

So this sentence has a formal tone.

Because þér takes the verb form that matches second person plural agreement.

The verb geta in the present tense goes like this:

• ég get
• þú getur
• hann/hún/það getur
• við getum
• þið getið
• þeir/þær/þau geta

Since formal þér behaves grammatically like a plural form for agreement, the sentence uses getið, not getur.

This is a very common learner question.

The basic verb is að svara. But after geta, Icelandic normally uses the form svarað.

So:

• að svara = the dictionary form
• get svarað / getur svarað / getið svarað = the form used after geta

This form is often called the supine or a non-finite verb form. The important practical point is:

• after geta, you usually say svarað, not svara

So Getið þér svarað...? is the normal pattern.

Skriflega is an adverb. It tells you how the answering should be done: in writing / in written form.

It is related to the adjective skriflegur, meaning written or written-form.

Compare the idea:

• skriflegur = written
• skriflega = in writing, in a written way

In the sentence, it modifies svarað.

Because this is a yes/no question.

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

• Statement: Þér getið svarað skriflega.
• Question: Getið þér svarað skriflega?

This is similar to English:

• You can answer in writing.
• Can you answer in writing?

So the verb-first order is what marks it as a question.

Yes, but it sounds formal.

A modern everyday speaker would more often say:

• Geturðu svarað skriflega?

That is the usual informal singular version.

So the original sentence is not wrong at all, but it sounds more like:

• formal speech
• polite service language
• official or older-style wording

Yes. Svara normally takes the dative.

For example:

• svara mér = answer me
• svara honum = answer him
• svara spurningunni = answer the question

In your sentence, no object is stated, because it is understood from context.

You could expand it, for example:

• Getið þér svarað mér skriflega?

Here mér is dative, as required by svara.

It is the same spelling, but not the same function.

Icelandic learners often notice that þér can mean different things depending on grammar.

In this sentence, þér is the subject, meaning formal you.

In other sentences, þér can also be the dative singular form meaning to you.

Here we know it is the subject because:

• it comes after the verb in a question
• the verb agrees with it as the person being addressed: getið

So in Getið þér svarað skriflega?, þér is not to you. It is formal you.

Yes, Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible, but the version you have is the most neutral and natural:

• Getið þér svarað skriflega?

You may also encounter other placements, but they can sound more marked, more formal, or more emphatic.

For a learner, the safest choice is to keep skriflega after svarað, as in your sentence.

Here are the most useful equivalents:

• Geturðu svarað skriflega? = to one person, informal
• Getið þið svarað skriflega? = to more than one person

So the three versions are:

• Getið þér svarað skriflega? = one person, formal
• Geturðu svarað skriflega? = one person, informal
• Getið þið svarað skriflega? = more than one person