Það er erfitt að búa saman án samkomulags um einfaldar reglur heima.

This is a very common Icelandic pattern meaning It is difficult to...

• Það = it
• er = is
• erfitt = difficult, hard
• að búa saman... = to live together...

So Það er erfitt að búa saman... works just like English It is difficult to live together...

In this sentence, það is a dummy subject, just like English it in It is hard to understand. It does not refer to a specific thing.

Erfitt is the neuter singular form of the adjective erfiður.

That is because it agrees with það, which is grammatically neuter singular in this kind of impersonal sentence.

The adjective forms are:

• erfiður = masculine
• erfið = feminine
• erfitt = neuter

Since the structure is Það er..., Icelandic uses the neuter form: Það er erfitt.

Here að is the infinitive marker, like English to.

So:

• að búa = to live
• að borða = to eat
• að fara = to go

In this sentence:

• Það er erfitt að búa saman = It is difficult to live together

Do not confuse this að with the preposition að, which can also mean things like to, at, by, depending on the sentence. Here it is just marking the infinitive.

In this sentence, búa means to live or to reside.

That is one of the common meanings of búa in Icelandic. It can also appear in other expressions with related meanings, but here the context is clearly living together in a home.

So:

• búa saman = live together
• búa heima = live at home

A learner should memorize búa saman as a very common phrase meaning to live together.

Saman means together.

So:

• búa = live
• búa saman = live together

Without saman, the sentence would just talk about living in general. With saman, it specifically refers to people sharing a home or living arrangement.

This is very similar to English:

• to live
• to live together

Because the preposition án takes the genitive case.

The noun is:

• nominative: samkomulag = agreement
• genitive singular: samkomulags

So:

• án samkomulags = without agreement
• more literally: without of-agreement

This is something you often have to learn together with the preposition:

• án + genitive

That is why the noun changes form.

Samkomulag means agreement, understanding, or arrangement, depending on context.

In this sentence, it means something like a shared agreement or mutual understanding about household rules.

So án samkomulags um einfaldar reglur heima means that people have no clear agreement about the basic rules at home.

It is a useful noun to learn:

• komast að samkomulagi = to reach an agreement
• vera með samkomulag = to have an agreement / arrangement

The preposition um here means about or regarding.

So:

• samkomulag um eitthvað = agreement about something

In the sentence:

• samkomulags um einfaldar reglur = agreement about simple rules

This is a very common use of um.

Also, um normally takes the accusative case, which helps explain the form of einfaldar reglur.

Einfaldar reglur is accusative plural.

That is because um takes the accusative.

The noun is:

• nominative singular: regla = rule
• nominative plural: reglur = rules
• accusative plural: reglur = also rules

The adjective einfaldur must agree with reglur in gender, number, and case:

• regla is feminine
• reglur is plural
• after um, it must be accusative

So the correct form is:

• um einfaldar reglur = about simple rules

Because noun endings do not always change between nominative and accusative plural, but adjectives still show the case clearly.

For regla:

• nominative plural: reglur
• accusative plural: reglur

So the noun looks the same in both cases.

But the adjective changes according to the case and gender:

• nominative plural feminine strong: einfaldar
• accusative plural feminine strong: einfaldar

In this specific example, the adjective also happens to look the same. That means the whole phrase does not visibly change much, but grammatically it is still accusative because of um.

This is common in Icelandic: sometimes the case is determined by the preposition even when the forms look identical.

Heima means at home or home, depending on context.

Icelandic often uses heima by itself, without a preposition where English would use at.

So:

• heima = at home
• ég er heima = I am at home
• reglur heima = rules at home / household rules

This is a very natural Icelandic word and should be learned as a fixed adverb.

In this sentence, heima most naturally goes with einfaldar reglur.

So the idea is:

• agreement about simple rules at home

rather than:

• to live together at home

Of course, living together usually also happens at home, so the whole sentence has a household meaning anyway. But grammatically and semantically, heima most likely describes the rules.

The given word order is natural and standard:

• Það er erfitt að búa saman án samkomulags um einfaldar reglur heima.

Icelandic does allow some flexibility, but changing the order can shift emphasis or sound less natural.

For example, you might move parts for emphasis in some contexts, but the original version is a good neutral model for learners.

A useful way to see the structure is:

• Það er erfitt = main statement
• að búa saman = infinitive clause
• án samkomulags = condition/lack
• um einfaldar reglur heima = what the agreement is about

Yes, in terms of meaning, að búa saman án samkomulags... is what is being described as difficult.

So the real content is:

• Living together without agreement about simple rules at home is difficult.

But Icelandic, like English, often uses the dummy subject það and puts the infinitive clause later:

• Það er erfitt að búa saman...

This makes the sentence feel more natural and easier to process.

A learner could take away these very useful patterns:

• Það er + adjective + að + infinitive
  = It is + adjective + to...
  Example: Það er gott að hvíla sig.

• búa saman
  = live together

• án + genitive
  Example: án samkomulags

• samkomulag um + accusative
  = agreement about...

• heima
  = at home

So this one sentence is useful because it combines several high-frequency Icelandic patterns.