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

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.

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.

Dagur is the dictionary form of the noun day, and it is a very common type of masculine noun in Icelandic.

Many masculine nouns have -ur in the nominative singular:

• dagur = day
• maður = man
• hundur = dog

That -ur often disappears or changes in other cases. For example:

• nominative: dagur
• accusative: dag
• dative: degi
• genitive: dags

So dagur here is the normal subject form.

There are two important things happening here:

1. í takes different cases depending on meaning

With í, Icelandic distinguishes between:

• location = usually dative
• motion into something = usually accusative

Here the meaning is at work / in the workplace, so it is location, which calls for the dative:

• í vinnunni = at work / in the work(place)

Compare:

• Ég er í vinnunni. = I am at work.
• Ég fer í vinnuna. = I go to work.

The second one has movement toward work, so it uses the accusative vinnuna.

2. The definite article is attached to the noun

Icelandic often adds the as a suffix.

• vinna = work
• vinnunni = the work / at the workplace

In this expression, í vinnunni is the normal way to say at work.

Formally, yes, it contains the definite article, but in actual usage í vinnunni is best understood as at work.

So although the form is built like in the work, idiomatic English translation is:

• í vinnunni = at work

This is a good example of how Icelandic and English package everyday expressions differently.

Here svo means so or therefore.

The sentence has this logic:

• This is an ordinary day at work
• so I just take an ordinary lunch with me

So svo connects the two parts and shows a result or consequence.

Depending on context, svo can also mean things like then, after that, or as, but here so is the best match.

Tek is the 1st person singular present tense of the verb taka (to take).

So:

• að taka = to take
• ég tek = I take
• þú tekur = you take
• hann/hún/það tekur = he/she/it takes

This verb is not completely regular, so it is worth memorizing.

In the sentence:

• ég tek bara venjulegan hádegismat með mér
• I just take a normal lunch with me

Bara usually means just, only, or simply.

In this sentence, it gives the idea of:

• nothing special
• just the usual thing
• simply

So:

• ég tek bara venjulegan hádegismat með mér

feels like:

• I just take a normal lunch with me
• I simply bring an ordinary lunch

It helps create the everyday, unremarkable tone of the sentence.

Because Icelandic very often forms compound nouns as a single word.

Here:

• hádegi = noon
• matur / mat = food / meal

Together:

• hádegismatur = lunch

In the sentence, it appears as hádegismat, which is the accusative singular form.

So:

• nominative: hádegismatur
• accusative: hádegismat

This is very normal in Icelandic. English often writes similar ideas as separate words, but Icelandic tends to combine them.

Because it is the object of the verb tek, so it is in the accusative case.

The dictionary form is:

• hádegismatur = lunch

But after ég tek (I take), the direct object is accusative:

• ég tek hádegismat

This is the same kind of pattern you saw with the adjective:

• nominative: venjulegur dagur
• accusative: venjulegan hádegismat

Because the preposition með normally takes the dative case when it means with.

The pronoun ég changes by case:

• nominative: ég = I
• accusative: mig = me
• dative: mér = to me / for me / with me, depending on context

So:

• með mér = with me

That is why the sentence says:

• tek ... með mér = take ... with me

This is a very common expression in Icelandic.

In English, we would often say bring in this situation:

• I bring lunch with me

But Icelandic commonly uses taka með sér literally take with oneself.

So:

• ég tek hádegismat með mér

can naturally correspond to:

• I take lunch with me
• I bring lunch with me

Both capture the meaning.

It is quite normal.

The sentence structure is:

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

Very literally:

• This is an ordinary day at work, so I take just an ordinary lunch with me.

A few things to notice:

1. Subject usually appears early

• ég comes before tek

2. bara sits before the noun phrase it affects

• tek bara venjulegan hádegismat

3. með mér comes at the end

That is a very natural place for this kind of prepositional phrase.

So the order is not strange; it is a good example of ordinary Icelandic sentence structure.

Yes, venjulegur is a very common word meaning ordinary, usual, or normal.

Depending on context, English might translate it in slightly different ways:

• venjulegur dagur = an ordinary day / a normal day / a usual day
• venjulegan hádegismat = a normal lunch / an ordinary lunch / the usual lunch

So if the learner already knows the overall meaning, it is useful to remember that venjulegur often covers the idea of usual as much as ordinary.