Breakdown of Hnappurinn er of lítill fyrir stórar hendur.
vera
to be
lítill
small
stór
big
fyrir
for
hnappurinn
the button
of
too
höndin
the hand
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Questions & Answers about Hnappurinn er of lítill fyrir stórar hendur.
What does -inn in Hnappurinn mean and why is it there?
In Icelandic you show definiteness by adding a post-positive article to the noun. -inn is the masculine singular nominative definite ending. So hnappur (“button”) becomes hnappurinn (“the button”).
Why is the adjective lítill not weakened even though hnappurinn is definite?
Because lítill here is predicative (it follows the verb er “is”). Predicative adjectives take the strong form and agree in gender, number and case with the subject (masc. sg. nom.), regardless of the noun’s definiteness.
What does the word of mean here and how is it different from English of?
In Icelandic of is an adverb meaning “too” (as in “too small”). It’s not the preposition “of” in English, but the word you use to intensify adjectives: of lítill = “too small.”
Why is fyrir used and what case does it govern?
Fyrir here means “for” in the sense of suitability (“too small for”). It governs the accusative case, so stórar hendur is accusative plural (which for feminine looks identical to nominative plural).
Why is it stórar hendur (plural) and not singular?
We generally speak of hands in pairs, so “big hands” is plural in both English and Icelandic. Also, fyrir plus accusative expresses “for big hands” in general, not for one hand.
How does the adjective stórar agree with hendur?
Hendur is a feminine noun in the accusative plural. Adjectives in that slot take the strong/accusative plural ending -ar, so stór becomes stórar.
Why is the verb er placed second in the sentence instead of first?
Icelandic follows the V2 (verb-second) rule: the finite verb (er) must occupy the second position. With Hnappurinn as the first element, er comes immediately after.
Could you use með stórum höndum instead of fyrir stórar hendur?
No—með + dative means “with [something]” (instrumental), whereas fyrir + accusative expresses “for” in the sense of “intended/suitable for.” To say “too small for big hands,” you need fyrir stórar hendur.
How would you say “The buttons are too small for big hands”?
Make hnappur and lítill plural and use the plural verb eru:
Hnapparnir eru of litlir fyrir stórar hendur.