Hann vinnur ekki mikið.

not

Breakdown of Hann vinnur ekki mikið.

• vinna: to work
• hann: he
• mikið: much

Questions & Answers about Hann vinnur ekki mikið.

Why is ekki placed after vinnur instead of before?

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:

1. Hann (subject) – first element
2. vinnur (finite verb) – second element
3. ekki (negation) – immediately after the verb

If you put ekki before vinnur, you’d violate this standard word order.

What is the form vinnur, and how do I conjugate vinna?

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)

What part of speech is mikið, and why does it come after ekki?

Here mikið is an adverb meaning much or a lot. In negative sentences the adverb typically follows ekki to complete the idea “not much”. So the chunk ekki mikið literally means not much.

Can I say Hann vinnur lítið instead of Hann vinnur ekki mikið?

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.

Is the pronoun hann necessary here, or can I drop it?

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.

How would I pronounce Hann vinnur ekki mikið?

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.

Can I change the word order and say Mikið vinnur hann ekki?

Technically you can front an adverbial for emphasis, but this word order sounds poetic or old-fashioned. In everyday speech you’d almost always keep the neutral order Hann vinnur ekki mikið.

Are there other ways to say “He doesn’t work much” in Icelandic?

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)