Questions & Answers about Ég bæti smá olíu í deigið.
Bæti is the 1st person singular present tense of bæta. So it means I add.
In a sentence like this, Icelandic often uses the simple present where English might also say I’m adding, especially in recipes or step-by-step instructions.
Yes. Bæta can mean improve, but it can also mean add, depending on the context.
In this sentence, the structure bæta einhverju í eitthvað means to add something into/to something. The words smá olíu í deigið make it clear that the meaning here is add, not improve.
Here smá means a little or some.
In this use, smá is very commonly treated as an indeclinable quantity word, so it usually stays smá instead of changing form. That is why you get smá olíu.
Be aware that Icelandic also has the adjective smár meaning small, and that one does decline. But in everyday phrases like smá olía, smá salt, smá sykur, learners will often meet the indeclinable quantity-word use first.