Questions & Answers about Hann vinnur mikið.
Certainly. Present tense of vinna:
• ég vinn
• þú vinnur
• hann/henni vinnur
• við vinnum
• þið vinnið
• þeir/þær/þau vinna
Icelandic main clauses follow a V2 (verb‐second) rule. The finite verb occupies the second position. Here:
- Hann (Subject) – first position
- vinnur (Verb) – second position
- mikið (Adverb) – after the verb
Move the verb into the first position and keep the rest:
Vinnur hann mikið?
Unlike English, Icelandic doesn’t need an auxiliary for “does.”
Insert ekki (not) after the verb:
Hann vinnur ekki mikið.
Literally “He works not much,” i.e., “He doesn’t work a lot.”
Yes. Besides mikið, you can use:
• hann vinnur mjög mikið (“he works very much”)
• hann vinnur helling (“he works a ton”)
• hann vinnur heilmikið (“he works quite a bit”)
You can also say hann vinnur hart to mean “he works hard.”
Icelandic often uses the present for future, but you can add mun (will) for clarity:
Hann mun vinna mikið.
Or simply Hann vinnur mikið á morgun (“he works a lot tomorrow”).
Rough phonetic guide:
• Hann [hanː] (“hahnn”)
• vinnur [ˈvɪnːʏr] (VINN-ur, with a short u like “put”)
• mikið [ˈmɪːcɪð] (MEE-kith, with the final ð like the “th” in “this”)
Check with a native speaker or audio resource for exact sounds, especially the Icelandic ð and the long nn.