Áður en ég fer í vinnu, teygi ég mig í smástund, því ég er oft syfjaður á mánudögum.

Áður en is a fixed expression meaning before when it introduces a clause. It is made of áður (earlier / before) + en (than / before in this structure).

So:

• Áður en ég fer í vinnu = Before I go to work

You usually use áður en when what follows has its own verb, as here with fer.

Icelandic often uses the present tense where English might think in more future-like terms. In time clauses with words like áður en (before), the present tense is normal.

So Áður en ég fer í vinnu literally looks like Before I go to work, and that is also the natural Icelandic way to say it. Icelandic does not need a special future tense here.

This is because Icelandic follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

Here, the whole clause Áður en ég fer í vinnu comes first. After that first element, the finite verb of the main clause must come next:

• Áður en ég fer í vinnu, teygi ég mig ...

So the order becomes:

1. fronted clause
2. finite verb teygi
3. subject ég

If the sentence started directly with the subject, you would get:

• Ég teygi mig í smástund ...

Because the verb is being used reflexively: teygja sig means to stretch oneself.

So:

• ég teygi mig = I stretch
• literally: I stretch myself

Many Icelandic verbs are commonly used with a reflexive pronoun like mig, þig, sig, and this is one of them.

Fara í vinnu is the normal Icelandic expression for go to work. It is an idiomatic phrase.

Here í does not just mean physical movement into a place in a simple literal way; the whole phrase fara í vinnu means entering the state or activity of being at work / going off to work.

So learners should remember this as a set phrase:

• fara í vinnu = go to work

Because Icelandic often leaves out the article in expressions like this, especially when talking about work in a general sense.

So:

• í vinnu = to work / at work in a general, idiomatic sense

If you used the definite article, it would sound more like a specific workplace or a more literal noun phrase, not the standard everyday expression go to work.

Í smástund means for a short while or for a moment.

The noun is smástund (a short moment / short while), and Icelandic often uses í in time expressions of duration like this. So although í often means in / into, in this kind of expression it helps form the idea for a short time.

It is best learned as a common phrase:

• teygja sig í smástund = stretch for a short while

In this sentence, því is being used as a conjunction meaning because / since.

So:

• ..., því ég er oft syfjaður á mánudögum.
• ..., because I am often sleepy on Mondays.

This því is very common in written and spoken Icelandic. It is one of the standard ways to introduce a reason.

Syfjaður is an adjective meaning sleepy / drowsy. In the sentence, it is a predicate adjective after er (am).

So:

• ég er syfjaður = I am sleepy

The adverb oft (often) is placed between the verb and the adjective:

• ég er oft syfjaður = I am often sleepy

That placement is very normal in Icelandic.

No. Syfjaður is the masculine singular nominative form, so it fits a male speaker saying ég.

If the speaker were female, the form would normally be:

• ég er oft syfjuð

So the adjective agrees with the gender and number of the person being described.

Because á mánudögum means on Mondays in the habitual, repeated sense.

Compare:

• á mánudegi = on Monday (one Monday, singular)
• á mánudögum = on Mondays (repeatedly, plural)

So the plural is used because the sentence is talking about a general pattern: being sleepy on Mondays in general.

It is dative plural. After á in expressions of time like á mánudögum, Icelandic uses the dative.

So:

• singular dative: mánudegi
• plural dative: mánudögum

This is something learners often need to memorize with time expressions:

• á mánudegi = on Monday
• á mánudögum = on Mondays

Oft is an adverb, and in a sentence with vera (to be), adverbs like this commonly come after the finite verb and before the adjective or other complement.

So:

• ég er oft syfjaður

is the natural order. Putting oft elsewhere may sound marked or change the emphasis.

The commas separate the clauses. Icelandic punctuation commonly uses commas around subordinate clauses more readily than English does.

Here you have:

• Áður en ég fer í vinnu = subordinate clause
• teygi ég mig í smástund = main clause
• því ég er oft syfjaður á mánudögum = clause giving the reason

So the commas help show the structure clearly.