Ég er vanur að elda kjúkling með pasta á virkum dögum.

I am used to cooking chicken with pasta on weekdays.

Breakdown of Ég er vanur að elda kjúkling með pasta á virkum dögum.

• ég: I
• vera: to be
• með: with
• elda: to cook

Questions & Answers about Ég er vanur að elda kjúkling með pasta á virkum dögum.

What does er vanur að mean exactly?

Að vera vanur að + infinitive means to be used to / accustomed to doing something.

In this sentence, it describes a current habit or something the speaker is comfortable/accustomed to doing. That is slightly different from English used to, which often refers to a past habit that may no longer be true.

So this Icelandic structure can mean something like:

• I am used to cooking...
• I’m in the habit of cooking...

Depending on context, English may also translate it more naturally as I usually cook..., but the Icelandic wording emphasizes habit/accustomedness.

Why is it vanur? What if the speaker is female?

Vanur agrees with the subject in gender, number, and case.

Here the subject is ég, and the adjective is in the form used for a masculine singular speaker:

• Ég er vanur að... = said by a man
• Ég er vön að... = said by a woman

So if a female speaker says the same sentence, it would normally be:

• Ég er vön að elda kjúkling með pasta á virkum dögum.

This is a very common thing learners notice in Icelandic: adjectives often reflect the speaker’s gender.

Why is there an að before elda?