Það voru mikil vonbrigði að missa af leiknum.

to be

Breakdown of Það voru mikil vonbrigði að missa af leiknum.

• það: it
• leikurinn: the game
• missa af: to miss

Questions & Answers about Það voru mikil vonbrigði að missa af leiknum.

What does það mean here? Is it actually it?

Here það is mostly a dummy subject, much like English it in sentences such as It was disappointing to miss the game.

It does not really refer to a specific thing. Icelandic often uses það this way when the real content of the sentence comes later, here in að missa af leiknum.

So in this sentence, það is there because Icelandic wants a subject slot filled, not because that/it has a strong concrete meaning.

Why is it voru and not var?

Because vonbrigði is grammatically plural, and the verb agrees with that.

• voru = were
• var = was

Even though English often says it was a disappointment, Icelandic uses the noun vonbrigði, which is treated as plural in form. So the sentence uses plural agreement:

• Það voru mikil vonbrigði ...
• literally something like It/there were great disappointments ...

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal Icelandic grammar.

Why is it mikil?