Ræktunarreiturinn er lítill.

Because -inn is the definite article attached to the noun. Icelandic usually puts the at the end of the noun rather than as a separate word.

So:

• ræktunarreitur = cultivation plot / growing bed
• ræktunarreiturinn = the cultivation plot / the growing bed

This is very common in Icelandic:

• bíll = car
• bíllinn = the car

In this sentence, the subject is a specific plot, so the definite form is used.

In Icelandic, the is usually not a separate word like in English. Instead, it is attached to the noun as a suffix.

So English:

• the plot

becomes Icelandic:

• reiturinn

This means Icelandic learners often need to think of definiteness as part of the noun form itself, not as a separate article before it.

It is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Icelandic.

It can be broken down like this:

• ræktun = cultivation, growing
• ræktunar- = a linking/genitive form meaning of cultivation or for cultivation
• reitur = plot, square, patch
• -inn = the

So the whole word literally works something like:

• plot of cultivation + the

or more naturally:

• the cultivation plot
• the growing bed

Icelandic often packs into one word what English would express with two or three words.

Because Icelandic adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

• gender
• number
• case

Here, ræktunarreiturinn is:

• masculine
• singular
• nominative (because it is the subject)

So the adjective must also be masculine singular nominative, which is lítill.

Compare:

• reiturinn er lítill = the plot is small
• bókin er lítil = the book is small (feminine)
• húsið er lítið = the house is small (neuter)

So lítill is not just the basic dictionary form by chance; it matches the noun grammatically.

Because this sentence uses vera (to be) as a linking verb.

The structure is:

• subject + er + adjective

So:

• Ræktunarreiturinn = the cultivation plot
• er = is
• lítill = small

This is similar to English:

• The plot is small

The adjective is not directly before the noun here because it is a predicate adjective, not an adjective inside the noun phrase.

Compare:

• lítill ræktunarreitur = a small cultivation plot
• ræktunarreiturinn er lítill = the cultivation plot is small

Er is the present tense, 3rd person singular form of the verb vera (to be).

So:

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann / hún / það er = he / she / it is

Since ræktunarreiturinn is a singular subject, er is the correct form.

Yes. This is the normal, neutral word order for a simple statement:

• Subject + Verb + Complement

So:

• Ræktunarreiturinn = subject
• er = verb
• lítill = complement

That said, Icelandic can move elements around more than English for emphasis, but this version is the most straightforward and natural for a basic statement.

A rough learner-friendly approximation is:

RYEK-tu-nar-RAY-tu-rinn

A few helpful points:

• æ often sounds roughly like eye
• ei in reitur sounds roughly like ay
• the r is rolled or tapped
• Icelandic pronunciation is often sharper and crisper than English spelling suggests

If you want to say it slowly, try breaking it up:

• ræktunar
  • reitur
    • inn

Then combine them smoothly.

A rough approximation is:

LEE-titl

The tricky part is the ending -ll. In Icelandic, ll is often not pronounced like ordinary English ll. In words like lítill, it sounds more like a special tl-type sound.

So even though it is spelled lítill, it may sound closer to:

• LEE-titl

than to an English-style LEE-till.

Also:

• í is a long ee sound

It is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

In a sentence like X is small, the thing that is small is the subject, and subjects are normally nominative in Icelandic.

So:

• ræktunarreiturinn = nominative singular

That nominative subject is one reason the adjective also appears in the nominative form lítill.

You would remove the definite ending -inn.

So:

• Ræktunarreiturinn er lítill. = The cultivation plot is small.
• Ræktunarreitur er lítill. = A cultivation plot is small. or Cultivation plot is small in a very literal gloss

In natural usage, Icelandic often has no article at all for the indefinite, unlike English a/an.

So the contrast is mainly:

• no ending = indefinite
• -inn ending = definite

It most often means small in size, amount, or degree, depending on context.

In this sentence, it clearly means physical size:

• The cultivation plot is small

But in other contexts, related forms can also mean:

• small in quantity
• young/little
• slight/minor

As always, the exact sense depends on the noun and the situation. Here, the most natural meaning is simply small.