Hann tekur sér stutt hlé eftir vinnu.

Taka is the dictionary form, meaning to take.

In the sentence, the verb has to match hann (he), so it becomes tekur, which is the 3rd person singular present tense:

• ég tek = I take
• þú tekur = you take
• hann tekur = he takes

So Hann tekur means He takes.

Also, taka is an irregular verb, so its forms are worth memorizing.

Sér is a reflexive pronoun, and here it means something like for himself.

So the structure is roughly:

• Hann tekur sér hlé = He takes himself a break
  or more naturally in English, He takes a break

In Icelandic, this is a very common pattern. Compare:

• Hún kaupir sér kaffi = She buys herself coffee
• Ég fæ mér vatn = I get myself some water

So in tekur sér stutt hlé, the sér adds the idea that he is taking the break for himself.

Sér is the dative form of the reflexive pronoun.

The reflexive pronoun has different forms depending on case:

• sig = accusative
• sér = dative
• sín = genitive

In the expression taka sér hlé, the verb pattern uses a dative reflexive pronoun plus a direct object:

• sér = dative
• hlé = accusative direct object

So this is not random vocabulary; it is part of the way this expression is built in Icelandic.

Because hlé is a neuter singular noun, and the adjective has to agree with it.

The adjective stuttur (short) changes form depending on gender, number, case, and whether it is strong or weak.

Here:

• noun: hlé
• gender: neuter
• number: singular
• case: accusative
• declension: strong (because the noun is indefinite)

So the correct adjective form is stutt.

Compare:

• stuttur dagur = a short day (masculine)
• stutt ferð = a short trip (feminine)
• stutt hlé = a short break (neuter)

It is in the accusative, because it is the direct object of tekur.

He is taking what?
→ stutt hlé

That makes hlé the thing being taken, so it is the direct object.

One thing that can be confusing is that many neuter nouns have the same form in nominative and accusative singular, so hlé looks unchanged. But grammatically, it is functioning as an accusative object here.

Because Icelandic does not have an indefinite article like English a/an.

So:

• stutt hlé = a short break
• hlé can mean a break, depending on context

If Icelandic wants to say the break, it usually uses a definite ending on the noun:

• hléið = the break

So:

• stutt hlé = a short break
• stutta hléið = the short break

It means after work.

• eftir = after
• vinnu = work

So:

• eftir vinnu = after work

This phrase tells us when he takes the break.

Because after the preposition eftir, the noun appears in an oblique case, not in the basic dictionary form.

The dictionary form is:

• vinna = work

In the sentence, it becomes:

• vinnu

Here, eftir takes the noun in the dative.

A useful extra point: with this noun, vinnu is one of those forms that looks the same in more than one case, so you often have to learn the case from the preposition rather than from the ending alone.

Here it is the noun work.

That matters because vinna can also be a verb:

• að vinna = to work / to win

But in eftir vinnu, it is clearly a noun because it comes after a preposition and means after work.

So in this sentence:

• vinnu = the noun work in an oblique form

Yes, you may hear or use Hann tekur stutt hlé eftir vinnu, and it is understandable.

But taka sér hlé is a very common and natural Icelandic way to say take a break. Including sér often sounds more idiomatic.

So:

• Hann tekur sér stutt hlé eftir vinnu = very natural
• Hann tekur stutt hlé eftir vinnu = possible, but a bit less idiomatic in many contexts

Yes. Icelandic word order is flexible, but the language often follows the verb-second rule in main clauses.

The original sentence is:

• Hann tekur sér stutt hlé eftir vinnu.

You can also move the time phrase to the front:

• Eftir vinnu tekur hann sér stutt hlé.

Notice what happens: the verb tekur still stays in the second position.

That is very typical of Icelandic main clauses and is something English speakers often need time to get used to.