Med mindre det regner, spiser vi is på en parkbenk etter jobben.

Med mindre means unless.

So:

• Med mindre det regner = unless it rains

It introduces a condition that would stop the main action from happening.

A few similar examples:

• Med mindre du er syk, kommer du på jobb.
  = Unless you’re sick, you come to work.
• Vi går en tur, med mindre det blåser for mye.
  = We’ll go for a walk unless it blows too much.

In Norwegian, weather expressions often use a dummy subject det, just like English uses it:

• det regner = it is raining
• det snør = it is snowing
• det blåser = it is windy / it is blowing

The det does not refer to a specific thing. It is just required by the grammar.

This is because Norwegian main clauses usually follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must come in the second position.

Here, the sentence starts with the adverbial clause:

• Med mindre det regner

After that comes the main clause, and the finite verb must come first in that clause:

• spiser vi is på en parkbenk etter jobben

So the pattern is:

• [fronted element], [verb] [subject] ...

Compare:

• Vi spiser is på en parkbenk etter jobben.
• Etter jobben spiser vi is på en parkbenk.
• Med mindre det regner, spiser vi is på en parkbenk etter jobben.

This inversion is very common in Norwegian.

Yes. It functions as a subordinate clause introduced by med mindre.

Inside that clause, the word order is normal for a clause with a subject and verb:

• det regner

The important word-order change happens in the main clause after it, where Norwegian uses inversion:

• spiser vi ...

So a useful way to see the sentence is:

• Subordinate clause: Med mindre det regner
• Main clause: spiser vi is på en parkbenk etter jobben

Because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause.

In Norwegian, when a subordinate clause comes before the main clause, it is normally followed by a comma:

• Med mindre det regner, spiser vi is ...

This is similar to English punctuation in sentences like:

• Unless it rains, we eat ice cream ...

Here, is means ice cream.

This can confuse English speakers because it looks like English ice, but in Norwegian:

• is = ice cream
• isen = the ice cream

Examples:

• Jeg vil ha is. = I want ice cream.
• Barna spiser is. = The children are eating ice cream.

Because is is often used as an uncountable or general food noun in Norwegian, much like English ice cream.

So:

• spiser vi is = we eat ice cream

This sounds natural when talking generally about the activity, not about one specific ice cream.

If you wanted to talk about one item, you could say something like:

• en is = an ice cream / an ice cream cone / a popsicle, depending on context

So there is a difference between:

• Vi spiser is. = We eat ice cream.
• Vi spiser en is. = We each eat an ice cream / one ice cream item.

På en parkbenk means on a park bench.

The preposition på is used because you are physically on the bench, just as in English:

• på en stol = on a chair
• på en benk = on a bench

And:

• en parkbenk = a park bench

So:

• på en parkbenk = on a park bench

En parkbenk is the indefinite singular form: a park bench.

That means the sentence is not talking about one specific bench already known to the listener. It is just saying on a park bench in general.

Compare:

• på en parkbenk = on a park bench
• på parkbenken = on the park bench

If the speaker had a particular bench in mind, parkbenken would be possible.

Etter jobben means after work.

In Norwegian, the definite form is often used in expressions like this:

• etter jobben = after work
• før skolen = before school
• etter festen = after the party

Even though English often uses no article in after work, Norwegian commonly says jobben.

So this is something you should learn as a natural expression rather than translate word-for-word.

Yes. You could also say:

• Vi spiser is på en parkbenk etter jobben med mindre det regner.

That still means the same thing: We eat ice cream on a park bench after work unless it rains.

The difference is mainly in structure and emphasis:

• Med mindre det regner, ... puts the condition first
• ..., med mindre det regner puts the main action first

When the sentence starts with med mindre det regner, the next clause must use inversion:

• spiser vi

If the sentence starts with Vi, then the normal order is:

• Vi spiser ...

Sometimes, yes, but they are not always used in exactly the same way.

In many everyday contexts, med mindre and hvis ikke can both express something close to unless:

• Med mindre det regner, spiser vi is ...
• Hvis det ikke regner, spiser vi is ...

But notice that the structure changes:

• med mindre + clause
• hvis ... ikke

So:

• med mindre det regner = unless it rains
• hvis det ikke regner = if it doesn’t rain

They are closely related in meaning, but not formed in the same way.

The basic main clause is:

• Vi spiser is på en parkbenk etter jobben.

That means:

• Vi = we
• spiser = eat
• is = ice cream
• på en parkbenk = on a park bench
• etter jobben = after work

Then Med mindre det regner is added in front as a condition, which causes the inversion:

• Vi spiser → spiser vi