Questions & Answers about Er isst sehr wenig.
Since we are learning about irregular forms like viel and mehr, is wenig also irregular when we want to say 'less'?
Unlike viel (much), which changes into the completely different word mehr (more), wenig (little) is completely regular! You just add -er to say 'less' (weniger) and use am wenigsten for 'the least'. So 'He eats less' is just Er isst weniger.
Can I use klein instead of wenig to translate the English word 'little' here?
No, because German makes a strict difference between size and amount. Use klein when talking about physical size (small or short). Use wenig when talking about a quantity or amount (not much). Since we mean the amount of food he eats, wenig is the correct word.
Why is the verb isst spelled with an 'i' instead of an 'e' like in the infinitive essen?
Essen (to eat) is a strong verb that changes its main vowel from 'e' to 'i' for the du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. This is a common pattern to watch out for! So, while 'I eat' is ich esse, 'he eats' becomes er isst.
Isst (eats) sounds exactly like ist (is). How can listeners tell them apart?
You are right, they are pronounced exactly the same way! Listeners rely entirely on the context of the sentence. If someone wanted to say 'He is very little' (referring to size), they would say Er ist sehr klein. Because this sentence uses wenig (an amount), listeners automatically know the verb is 'eats'.
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