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Ég tek strætóinn heim eftir vinnu.

Ég tek strætóinn heim eftir vinnu.
I take the bus home after work.

Breakdown of Ég tek strætóinn heim eftir vinnu.

ég
I
taka
to take
heim
home
eftir
after
vinnan
the work
strætóinn
the bus
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Questions & Answers about Ég tek strætóinn heim eftir vinnu.

Why does Icelandic use taka (in Ég tek...) for getting the bus—does it literally mean take?

Yes, taka literally means to take, but Icelandic commonly uses it for choosing a mode of transport, similar to English take the bus/train. So Ég tek strætóinn is a very natural way to say you take/catch the bus.

What exactly is strætó? Is it slang?

Strætó is the everyday word for a bus in Iceland, and it comes from the bus company name Strætó. A more formal/older word is strætisvagn (bus, literally something like street-wagon), but in normal speech strætó is what you’ll hear most.

Why is it strætóinn with -inn on the end?

Icelandic has a suffix-style definite article:

  • strætó = a bus
  • strætóinn = the bus

The -inn is the masculine singular definite ending here. It attaches directly to the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

Is strætóinn in a special case (like accusative)? It looks like the basic form to me.

It’s the direct object of tek, so it’s accusative in function. For many masculine nouns (including strætó), nominative and accusative singular can look identical, especially with the definite form:

  • Nom: strætóinn
  • Acc: strætóinn
    So you recognize the role mainly from sentence structure: Ég (subject) + tek (verb) + strætóinn (object).
Why is heim used without a preposition? Shouldn’t it be something like to home?

heim is an adverb meaning homewards / (to) home, and it normally appears without a preposition. Icelandic often uses these directional “place adverbs” directly:

  • heim = (to) home
  • heima = at home
  • heiman = from home

So Ég fer heim / Ég tek strætóinn heim is standard.

What case does eftir take in eftir vinnu?

With the time meaning after, eftir typically governs the accusative. However, vinna has the same form in accusative and dative singular (vinnu), so you can’t see the difference here.

Also note: eftir can take dative with other meanings (like according to / in search of), so the case can depend on meaning.

Why is it eftir vinnu and not eftir vinnuna?

Both can be possible, depending on what you mean:

  • eftir vinnu = after work in a general sense (your workday as a concept/routine)
  • eftir vinnuna = after the work / after the shift (more specific/definite, often today’s work or a particular work period)

The version in your sentence sounds like a normal, general after work statement.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move eftir vinnu?

Word order is fairly flexible, but Icelandic is a V2 language (the finite verb tends to be in the second position in main clauses). Your sentence is a common neutral order:

  • Ég tek strætóinn heim eftir vinnu.

You can also front the time phrase for emphasis, while keeping the verb second:

  • Eftir vinnu tek ég strætóinn heim.
How do I pronounce Ég tek strætóinn heim eftir vinnu roughly?

A rough guide (accent varies by speaker):

  • Ég: starts with a y-sound, like yeh (the final g is often a soft fricative or barely heard)
  • tek: like tehk
  • strætóinn: stress on the first syllable (STRÆ-), with æ like English eye in many accents; the ending -inn is like in
  • heim: sounds close to hey-m (often like heym)
  • eftir: stress on ef-
  • vinnu: VIN-nu

(Stress in Icelandic normally falls on the first syllable.)

How would I turn this into a question or a negative sentence?

To negate, put ekki after the verb:

  • Ég tek ekki strætóinn heim eftir vinnu. = I don’t take the bus home after work.

To ask a yes/no question, you can put the verb first:

  • Tek ég strætóinn heim eftir vinnu? = Do I take the bus home after work?
    Or more naturally to ask someone else:
  • Tekur þú strætóinn heim eftir vinnu? = Do you take the bus home after work?
What are the other common forms of taka I should know (past tense, etc.)?

Key forms:

  • Infinitive: að taka = to take
  • Present: ég tek, þú tekur, hann/hún/það tekur
  • Past: ég tók
  • Supine/participle (used with hef): ég hef tekið = I have taken

So you can say:

  • Ég tók strætóinn heim eftir vinnu. = I took the bus home after work.