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Á miðvikudag var ég að elda kartöflur og lauk í eldhúsinu.

Á miðvikudag var ég að elda kartöflur og lauk í eldhúsinu.
On Wednesday I was cooking potatoes and onion in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Á miðvikudag var ég að elda kartöflur og lauk í eldhúsinu.

ég
I
vera
to be
elda
to cook
á
on
í
in
og
and
eldhúsið
the kitchen
laukurinn
the onion
kartaflan
the potato
miðvikudagur
Wednesday
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Questions & Answers about Á miðvikudag var ég að elda kartöflur og lauk í eldhúsinu.

Why does it say var ég and not ég var?

Icelandic follows the verb-second (V2) rule in main clauses: when you start the sentence with something other than the subject (here Á miðvikudag), the finite verb comes next, and the subject comes after it.
So:

  • Á miðvikudag var ég ... (On Wednesday was I ...)
    Not:
  • Á miðvikudag ég var ...
What exactly does var ég að elda mean grammatically?

var + að + infinitive is a very common Icelandic way to express an ongoing past action (similar to English was cooking).

  • var = past tense of vera (to be)
  • að elda = to cook (infinitive introduced by að)
    So var ég að elda ≈ I was cooking (in the middle of it, not just “I cooked” as a completed event).
Could I also just say Á miðvikudag eldaði ég kartöflur og lauk ...?

Yes. eldaði ég is the simple past (I cooked). The difference is mostly aspect:

  • eldaði ég = focuses on the event as a whole / completed action
  • var ég að elda = focuses on it being in progress at that time (background action)

Both are natural depending on what you want to emphasize.

Why is it Á miðvikudag and not Í miðvikudag?

For days of the week meaning on (a day), Icelandic typically uses á:

  • á miðvikudag = on Wednesday
    Using í here would sound wrong; í is more about being in/inside something or sometimes during a period, but not for “on Wednesday” in the normal day-of-week sense.
What form is miðvikudag—why not miðvikudagur?

The base dictionary form is miðvikudagur (nominative). After á meaning “on (a particular day)”, Icelandic uses the accusative:

  • nominative: miðvikudagur
  • accusative: miðvikudag (used here)

So Á miðvikudag literally uses the accusative form required by the preposition.

How would I say “on Wednesday” if I mean a specific Wednesday (like “that Wednesday”)?

You can add the definite article:

  • Á miðvikudaginn = on the Wednesday / that Wednesday
    Without the article (Á miðvikudag) often feels more like “on Wednesday (in general / this coming / some Wednesday)” depending on context.
Why is it kartöflur og lauk—why is lauk not laukur?

laukur is the nominative form (an onion). Here it’s an object of elda, so it appears in the accusative:

  • nominative: laukur
  • accusative: lauk

So elda kartöflur og lauk = cook potatoes and onion.

Does lauk mean one onion or onions in general?

Grammatically, lauk here is singular accusative (one onion).
If you clearly mean multiple onions, you’d typically use plural:

  • nominative plural: laukar
  • accusative plural: lauka
    So: ... kartöflur og lauka = potatoes and onions.

That said, foods can sometimes be treated a bit “mass-like” in context, but the form here is straightforwardly singular.

Why is it í eldhúsinu (with -inu) instead of í eldhúsi?

eldhúsinu is definite (“the kitchen”) and also in the dative case:

  • í
    • dative is used for location (being somewhere)
      So:
  • í eldhúsinu = in the kitchen (specific)
  • í eldhúsi = in a kitchen (non-specific)
How do I know í takes dative here?

Many Icelandic prepositions choose case based on meaning. With í:

  • í + dative = location (static): in the kitchen
  • í + accusative = motion/direction (into): into the kitchen

So:

  • Ég var í eldhúsinu. (dative, location)
  • Ég fór í eldhúsið. (accusative, motion “into”)
What is the role of að in að elda?

Here að is the normal infinitive marker used in many constructions, especially after verbs like vera in this progressive pattern:

  • vera
    • að
      • infinitive → ongoing action
        So að elda is simply to cook, used as part of the structure var ... að elda.
Is the word order after var ég fixed—why does að elda kartöflur og lauk come before í eldhúsinu?

It’s a very typical order: verb + (progressive) verb phrase + place. Icelandic is flexible, but neutral is:

  • var ég að elda [food] í eldhúsinu

You can move the location earlier for emphasis, but it changes focus:

  • ... í eldhúsinu var ég að elda ... (more like “In the kitchen, I was cooking ...”)