Mér líkaði teið betur með kanil.

I liked the tea better with cinnamon.

Breakdown of Mér líkaði teið betur með kanil.

• ég: I
• með: with
• betur: better
• líka: to like

Questions & Answers about Mér líkaði teið betur með kanil.

Why is it mér and not ég?

Because líka works differently from English like.

In Icelandic, the person who experiences the liking is often put in the dative case, not the nominative. So:

• ég = I (nominative)
• mér = to me / me (dative)

With líka, Icelandic is structured more like something pleases me than I like something.

So in this sentence:

• mér = to me
• teið is the thing that was pleasing/liked

That is why mér is correct here.

Why is the verb líkaði singular?

Because the verb agrees with teið, which is the grammatical subject.

Even though the sentence starts with mér, that is not the subject. The subject is teið (the tea), and it is:

• neuter
• singular

So the verb is also singular:

• teið líkaði = the tea was pleasing / was liked

This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers, because English would normally treat I as the subject in I liked the tea.