Hækkunin er mikil.

The increase is substantial.

Breakdown of Hækkunin er mikil.

• vera: to be
• mikill: high
• hækkunin: the increase

Questions & Answers about Hækkunin er mikil.

What does hækkunin mean grammatically?

Hækkunin is a noun in the nominative singular definite form.

It can be broken down like this:

• hækkun = increase, rise
• -in = the attached definite article, meaning the

So hækkunin literally means the increase.

This is very common in Icelandic: instead of putting a separate word for the before the noun, Icelandic often adds the article to the end of the noun.

Why is there no separate word for the?

Because Icelandic usually expresses the by attaching it to the noun.

So:

• hækkun = increase
• hækkunin = the increase

This is different from English, where the is a separate word. In Icelandic, the definite article is often a suffix.

Why is the verb er used here?

Er is the 3rd person singular present form of the verb vera, which means to be.

So:

• ég er = I am
• þú ert = you are
• hann/hún/það er = he/she/it is

In Hækkunin er mikil, er simply means is.

Why is it mikil and not or ?