Ég set líka smá salt á eggin, en hún vill meiri pipar.

I also put a little salt on the eggs, but she wants more pepper.

Breakdown of Ég set líka smá salt á eggin, en hún vill meiri pipar.

• ég: I
• vilja: to want
• hún: she
• líka: also
• setja: to put
• á: on
• en: but
• meiri: more
• eggið: the egg
• smá: a little
• saltið: the salt
• piparinn: the pepper

Questions & Answers about Ég set líka smá salt á eggin, en hún vill meiri pipar.

Why is it Ég set and not Ég setja?

Because set is the 1st person singular present tense form of the verb setja (to put / to add).

• Infinitive: að setja
• Present (1st sg): ég set
  So Icelandic conjugates the verb; you don’t keep the infinitive after the subject the way English sometimes feels like it does.

What does líka do here, and where can it go in the sentence?

líka means also / too. In this sentence it’s placed after the verb (set líka) which is very common. You can move it depending on what you want to emphasize, for example:

• Ég set líka smá salt á eggin = I also add a bit of salt to the eggs.
• Ég set smá salt á eggin líka = I add a bit of salt to the eggs too. (sounds more like “to the eggs as well”)

What is smá—an adjective or something else?

smá is commonly used like an indeclinable modifier meaning a little / a bit of. It often behaves like a fixed quantity word rather than a fully declining adjective.
You’ll see it before mass nouns a lot: smá salt, smá vatn, smá sykur.

Why does it say á eggin (with á)—doesn’t á mean “on”?

Yes, á often means on, but with verbs of placing/putting (like setja) it’s the natural preposition for “put onto / add onto” a surface/food. Icelandic conceptualizes seasoning as being placed onto the eggs.

Why is it eggin and not egg or egginum?

eggin is accusative plural definite: the eggs (as a set you’re talking about). It’s accusative because setja takes a direct object (setja X) and because á can govern the accusative when it implies movement/placement (“onto”).

• Indefinite plural: egg = eggs
• Definite plural: eggin = the eggs
  egginum would be dative plural definite and would fit different constructions (often location rather than movement, depending on context).

So does á take accusative or dative in Icelandic?

Both, depending on meaning:

• á + accusative often implies movement/placement/change (onto): setja salt á eggin
• á + dative often implies location/state (on): e.g., something is on something
  This “motion vs. location” pattern is common with several Icelandic prepositions.

What’s the role of en here—does it always mean “but”?

en usually means but, and it’s used for contrast: “I do X, but she wants Y.”
It can also mean than in comparisons (a different use), but here it’s clearly the conjunction but.

Why is hún included? Can Icelandic drop subject pronouns like Spanish?

Standard Icelandic usually keeps an explicit subject (ég, hún, etc.). Pronoun-dropping is much more limited than in Spanish. In casual speech you might occasionally omit it in short answers or very context-heavy situations, but as a learner you should normally include the subject pronoun.

What verb is vill, and how does it work?

vill is the present tense (3rd person singular) of vilja = to want.
It can take:

• a direct object noun phrase: hún vill meiri pipar (she wants more pepper)
• or an infinitive: hún vill fá meiri pipar (she wants to get more pepper)

Why is it meiri pipar and not meira pipar?

meiri is the comparative form of mikill (much / big), and it agrees with gender/number/case.
pipar is masculine here, so meiri fits. meira would be used with a neuter noun.
(You’ll often meet: meiri (m/f) vs meira (n).)

Is pipar countable in Icelandic? Why no article?

pipar is typically treated as a mass noun (like “pepper” in English), so you usually don’t use an article in a general amount sense. You can still specify it:

• meiri pipar = more pepper
• piparinn = the pepper (specific pepper being discussed)

What’s going on with punctuation and rhythm—why the comma?

The comma is separating two independent clauses joined by en:

• Ég set líka smá salt á eggin
• en hún vill meiri pipar
  That’s a standard way to punctuate a contrast in Icelandic (similar to English).