Lánþeginn bíður hér.

The basic forms are:

• lánþegi = borrower
• að bíða = to wait
• hér = here

So in the sentence:

• lánþeginn is a form of lánþegi
• bíður is a form of að bíða
• hér stays the same

Also, lánþegi is a compound word:

• lán = loan
• þegi = recipient / receiver

So the word literally means something like loan-recipient, which is the Icelandic way of saying borrower.

That ending is the definite article, meaning the.

In Icelandic, the is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

So:

• lánþegi = borrower
• lánþeginn = the borrower

With nouns like this one, which end in -i, the definite nominative singular often appears as -nn attached to the word.

Lánþeginn is:

• singular
• masculine
• nominative

It is nominative because it is the subject of the sentence, the person doing the waiting.

Because bíður is the conjugated form, while bíða is the infinitive.

• að bíða = to wait
• bíður = waits / is waiting

Here the subject is lánþeginn, which is third person singular, so the verb must also be in third person singular present tense:

• Lánþeginn bíður hér = The borrower waits / is waiting here

It can mean either, depending on context.

Icelandic present tense often covers both:

• simple present: waits
• present progressive: is waiting

So Lánþeginn bíður hér could mean either:

• The borrower waits here
• The borrower is waiting here

If Icelandic wants to stress the ongoing action more clearly, it can also use vera að + infinitive, for example er að bíða, but the simple present is very normal.

No. Icelandic does not normally use a separate preposition here.

English says:

• wait for someone

But Icelandic usually just uses bíða directly, and the thing or person waited for is often put in the genitive case.

For example:

• Ég bíð vinar míns = I am waiting for my friend

In Lánþeginn bíður hér, there is no object at all. The sentence simply says that the borrower is waiting, and hér tells you where.

Hér is an adverb, and it means here.

It tells you the location of the action:

• bíður = waits / is waiting
• hér = here

So it answers the question where?

Yes. Icelandic word order is somewhat flexible.

The version you have:

• Lánþeginn bíður hér

is a normal neutral sentence.

But you could also say:

• Hér bíður lánþeginn

This puts more emphasis on here.

A useful thing to notice is that Icelandic is often a verb-second language. That means if you move something like hér to the front, the finite verb still usually comes next:

• Hér bíður lánþeginn

not

• Hér lánþeginn bíður

The two special letters are very important:

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

So in this sentence:

• lánþeginn has þ = th as in think
• bíður has ð = th as in this

A few other pronunciation hints:

• á is roughly like ow in cow
• í is roughly like ee in see
• hér is roughly hyer, with an Icelandic r

A very rough English-style approximation of the whole sentence is:

lown-THEH-yin BEE-thur hyer

That is only approximate, but it helps you get started.

Then the noun becomes indefinite.

• lánþeginn = the borrower
• lánþegi = a borrower or borrower in a general sense

So:

• Lánþeginn bíður hér = The borrower waits here
• Lánþegi bíður hér = A borrower waits here

That small change is important, because Icelandic often marks definiteness directly on the noun.