Lyfjafræðingurinn spurði hvort ég tæki lyfin eftir mat.

Hvort introduces an indirect yes/no question, so here it means whether or if.

In other words, the pharmacist did not ask a wh-word question like when or why. They asked something like:

• Do you take the medicine after food?

When that is reported indirectly in Icelandic, hvort is a very common word to use.

Because this is reported speech / an indirect question after a past verb: spurði = asked.

In Icelandic, after a verb like spurði, the following clause often uses the subjunctive, especially in more careful or standard language. So:

• direct question: Tekurðu lyfin eftir mat?
• indirect report: Hann spurði hvort ég tæki lyfin eftir mat.

So tæki does not mean would take here. It is the form used because the question is being reported indirectly.

Tæki is the past subjunctive of taka = to take.

More specifically, it is the form used with ég here:

• ég tæki

This form often appears in indirect speech and other contexts where Icelandic prefers the subjunctive.

A learner often expects something like tek or tók, but tæki is a different mood, not just a different tense.

Not necessarily in the simple English sense.

Even though tæki is formally a past subjunctive form, in a sentence like this it often reflects backshift after a past reporting verb (spurði). So it can correspond to an original present-time question such as:

• Do you take the medicine after food?

So the whole sentence is best understood as reporting what the pharmacist asked, not as emphasizing that your taking the medicine belonged to some earlier finished past time.

Grammatically, lyfin is the definite plural of lyf.

However, Icelandic often uses plural forms for medication / medicines in contexts where English might say either:

• the medicine
• the medicines
• the medication

So the exact English translation depends on context. If someone has multiple tablets or prescribed meds, the medicines is very natural. But English sometimes uses singular medicine where Icelandic still has lyf in the plural.

Because lyfin is the object of the verb tæki.

The base noun is:

• lyf = medicine, drug

The form here is the definite form:

• lyfin = the medicine / the medicines

With a neuter noun like lyf, the plural definite form is lyfin. Since it is the thing being taken, it is the direct object of the verb.

Literally, eftir mat means after food or after a meal.

In natural English, that is often best understood as:

• after eating
• after meals
• after food

It is a very normal kind of Icelandic expression in medical or everyday instructions.

Because eftir mat is a general, idiomatic expression.

It usually means something like:

• after food
• after meals
• after eating

So it is not necessarily talking about one specific meal. Icelandic often leaves the noun indefinite in this kind of general expression.

If you wanted to refer to a particular meal, a definite form would be more likely.

The base form is:

• lyfjafræðingur = pharmacist

The ending -inn is the Icelandic definite article, which is usually attached to the end of the noun rather than written as a separate word like English the.

So:

• lyfjafræðingur = a pharmacist
• lyfjafræðingurinn = the pharmacist

Because of the noun’s shape, the final result is lyfjafræðingurinn, not just a simple added -inn after the full citation form.

The sentence has a very normal Icelandic structure:

• Lyfjafræðingurinn spurði = main clause
• hvort ég tæki lyfin eftir mat = subordinate clause

In the main clause, the subject comes first and the verb comes second:

• Lyfjafræðingurinn
  • spurði

In the subordinate clause introduced by hvort, the order is also normal:

• hvort ég tæki ...

That is why you see ég before tæki there.

A likely direct version would be:

• Tekurðu lyfin eftir mat?

or more formally:

• Tekur þú lyfin eftir mat?

Then, when reported indirectly after spurði, it becomes:

• Lyfjafræðingurinn spurði hvort ég tæki lyfin eftir mat.

This is a very useful pattern to learn:

• direct question → indirect question with hvort
  • subjunctive

In standard Icelandic, hvort is the better choice here because this is an indirect whether/if question.

• hvort = whether
• ef = if, mainly in a conditional sense

So here:

• Lyfjafræðingurinn spurði hvort ... = correct and natural

Using ef would usually not be the standard choice for this meaning, because the sentence is not conditional; it is reporting a yes/no question.