Breakdown of Ég er þreyttur í dag, en ég fer samt með plastið út.
Questions & Answers about Ég er þreyttur í dag, en ég fer samt með plastið út.
Because Icelandic adjectives agree with the subject in gender, number, and case.
- Ég is 1st person singular, and the implied gender of the speaker matters in predicate adjectives.
- þreyttur = masculine singular nominative
- þreytt = feminine singular nominative
- þreytt can also be neuter singular nominative (same form as feminine here), used e.g. if the subject were neuter. So a male speaker typically says Ég er þreyttur, a female speaker typically says Ég er þreytt.
í dag is a fixed, very common time expression meaning today. Icelandic often uses a preposition where English uses a bare adverb.
- í
- accusative can be used for time expressions.
- dag is the accusative singular of dagur (day). You’ll also see similar patterns like í gær (yesterday).
Because í can govern different cases depending on meaning and expression, and in the set phrase í dag, it takes the accusative.
- dag = accusative singular
- degi would be dative singular and appears in other contexts, but not in this standard expression.
en means but and introduces a contrast: tiredness vs. still doing the action.
- og = and (adds information)
- en = but (contrasts information) So ..., en ... is the normal way to join two contrasting clauses.
It can be omitted sometimes, but repeating ég is very natural and often preferred for clarity, especially in writing or careful speech:
- With repetition: ..., en ég fer samt ... (clear contrast; two full clauses)
- Without repetition: ..., en fer samt ... is possible but can sound more informal or context-dependent. Icelandic commonly repeats the subject pronoun in coordinated clauses.
samt here means still / anyway / nevertheless. It’s an adverb that often comes:
- after the verb: ég fer samt ...
- or after the subject: ég samt fer ... (possible, but less neutral here) The placement ég fer samt ... is a very typical, neutral way to express still.
Icelandic often uses fara (to go) in everyday expressions where English uses take or go and do:
- Ég fer með plastið út is idiomatic: literally I go with the plastic out, meaning I take the plastic out. You could also hear other verbs depending on situation (like setja in some contexts), but fara með X út is a common, natural pattern.
með basically means with, and in this construction it expresses taking/bringing something along while going somewhere:
- fara með X = go with X / take X along So fer með plastið út = go out with the plastic → take the plastic out.
That ending is the definite article attached to the noun.
- plast = plastic (indefinite)
- plastið = the plastic (definite) Many Icelandic nouns add the definite article as a suffix rather than using a separate word like English the.
In fara með X, the noun after með is typically in the accusative. For plast (a neuter noun), nominative and accusative singular look the same:
- nominative: plastið
- accusative: plastið So it is accusative here, but you can’t see the difference with this particular noun.
út means out. Icelandic often places direction words (sometimes called particles) after the object or later in the clause:
- Ég fer ... út = I go out
- Ég fer með plastið út = I take the plastic out Putting út at the end is very natural and common in Icelandic.
You can keep the present tense (it often covers near-future plans), or you can emphasize the ongoing action with a different structure, depending on what you mean. Common options:
- Ég er þreyttur í dag, en ég fer samt með plastið út. (still going to / still do)
- If you mean right this moment, Icelandic often uses simple present with context, or you can add núna (now):
..., en ég fer samt með plastið út núna.