Þetta er venjulegur dagur í vinnunni, svo ég tek bara venjulegan hádegismat með mér.

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Breakdown of Þetta er venjulegur dagur í vinnunni, svo ég tek bara venjulegan hádegismat með mér.

• vera: to be
• dagurinn: the day
• með: with

Questions & Answers about Þetta er venjulegur dagur í vinnunni, svo ég tek bara venjulegan hádegismat með mér.

Why does the sentence start with Þetta er?

Þetta er means this is or sometimes it is, depending on context.

In Icelandic, þetta is the neuter singular form of this. It is very often used in general statements like:

• Þetta er gott. = This is good.
• Þetta er venjulegur dagur. = This is an ordinary day.

Even though dagur is a masculine noun, Icelandic still commonly uses þetta in this kind of introductory this is ... sentence.

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Why is it venjulegur dagur but later venjulegan hádegismat?

Because Icelandic adjectives change form to match the noun’s gender, number, and case.

Here are the two phrases:

• venjulegur dagur = an ordinary day
• venjulegan hádegismat = an ordinary lunch

Why the difference?

1. venjulegur dagur

This is the subject of er, so dagur is in the nominative case.

• dagur = masculine singular nominative
• adjective must match: venjulegur

2. venjulegan hádegismat

This is the object of tek (I take), so hádegismat is in the accusative case.

• hádegismat = masculine singular accusative
• adjective must match: venjulegan

So the change is not random: it reflects grammar.

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