Ég tala minna.

I speak less.

Breakdown of Ég tala minna.

• ég: I
• tala: to speak
• minna: less

Questions & Answers about Ég tala minna.

What part of speech is minna in Ég tala minna, and what role does it play?

Minna is an adverb here. It’s the comparative form of lítið (“little”). In Ég tala minna, it modifies the verb tala (“speak”), telling us that the amount or frequency of speaking is reduced compared to some reference (e.g., before, or to someone else).

Why do we use minna instead of minni?

Minni is the comparative form of the adjective lítill when it agrees with a feminine noun (e.g. minni vika “a smaller week”). But when you turn lítill into an adverb (“little” → “to speak little”), the comparative adverb is minna. In short: minna = adverb, minni = adjective.

How do you form comparative adverbs in Icelandic in general?

Many Icelandic adjectives have a corresponding adverb in neuter singular, and their comparative adverb is built the same way as the comparative adjective, but you keep the neuter ending –a. Examples:
• mikill (adj.) → mikið (adv.) → comparative meira (adv.)
• lítill (adj.) → lítið (adv.) → comparative minna (adv.)

Why does minna follow the verb tala instead of preceding it?

Icelandic adverbs of degree normally come right after the finite verb. In a simple main‐clause V2 word order you have Subject → Verb → Adverb → Object. So Ég (subject) → tala (verb) → minna (adverb).

How would you say “I speak less Icelandic” in Icelandic?

You insert the object íslensku (accusative of íslenska “Icelandic”) after minna:
Ég tala minna íslensku.
Word order: Ég (I) → tala (speak) → minna (less) → íslensku (Icelandic).

How do you strengthen or intensify minna (e.g. “much less”)?

You can add an adverb like miklu or mun before minna:
• Ég tala miklu minna núna. (“I speak much less now.”)
• Ég tala mun minna en ég gerði áður. (“I speak far less than I used to.”)

How do you form a comparison “I speak less than you”?

Use en (“than”) after minna:
Ég tala minna en þú.
Literally “I speak less than you.”

Can the subject pronoun Ég be dropped here?

Yes. Icelandic often drops subject pronouns if the verb form is unambiguous:
Tala minna.
Still “(I) speak less,” but leaving out Ég makes it more colloquial or context‐dependent.

How would you pronounce minna?

Phonetically roughly /ˈmɪnːa/. The double nn indicates a long or geminated nasal sound, so hold the n slightly longer than a single n.