Questions & Answers about Hann vinnur ekki mikið.
In Icelandic main clauses the finite verb normally comes second (the V2 rule). The negation ekki then follows the verb. So in Hann vinnur ekki mikið you have:
- Hann (subject) – first element
- vinnur (finite verb) – second element
- ekki (negation) – immediately after the verb
If you put ekki before vinnur, you’d violate this standard word order.
vinnur is the present-tense, 3rd-person-singular form of the verb vinna (to work). A simple present-tense conjugation looks like this:
• Ég vinn (I work)
• Þú vinnur (you work)
• Hann/hún/það vinnur (he/she/it works)
• Við vinnum (we work)
• Þið vinnið (you pl. work)
• Þeir/þær/þau vinna (they work)
Yes. lítið is another adverb meaning little or not much.
• Hann vinnur ekki mikið. – He doesn’t work much.
• Hann vinnur lítið. – He works little (same basic meaning).
Note that ekki mikið is slightly more literal (“not much”), while vinnur lítið is a bit more idiomatic.
You can drop hann, but watch out for ambiguity:
• Vinnur ekki mikið.
By itself this could be “(I/you/he) don’t work much,” because vinnur also marks 2nd person singular (þú vinnur). Including hann makes it unambiguously 3rd person.
A rough phonetic guide:
HAN-n VIN-nur EHK-ki MEE-kht
• Stress falls on the first syllable of each content word: HAnn, VInnur, EKki, MÍKit.
• The final -kt in mikið is pronounced like a sharp kht.
Yes, a few alternatives:
• Hann starfar ekki mikið. – using starfa (to work, more formal)
• Hann tekur það rólega í vinnunni. – literally “He takes it easy at work.”
• Hann er ekki duglegur við vinnu. – “He isn’t diligent at work.” (a more descriptive turn)