Breakdown of Við reyndum að kíkja á skilaboðin.
við
we
að
to (infinitive marker)
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
kíkja
to check
Questions & Answers about Við reyndum að kíkja á skilaboðin.
How does the verb reyndum show that it is in the past tense?
The verb comes from reyna (to try). Because it is a weak verb, it forms the past tense by adding a suffix. It drops the -a and adds the past tense marker -d-, followed by the ending -um to match við (we).
Why do we use að kíkja instead of just kíkja?
When you have two verbs connected together like "tried to check", the second verb stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form. In Icelandic, the word að acts just like the English "to" before the verb kíkja.
Why is the word á included in this sentence?
The verb kíkja literally means "to peek" or "to have a look". In Icelandic, you cannot just "peek the message"; you have to peek at it. The preposition á provides that "at" or "on".
The translation says "the message", but doesn't the ending on skilaboðin mean it is plural?
Yes, exactly! The word skilaboð (message) is a neuter word that is always plural in Icelandic, much like the word "scissors" or "news" in English. The -in at the end is the plural definite article, so it translates to "the message" or "the messages" depending on context.