Questions & Answers about Kassinn vegur mjög lítið.
Why is it kassinn and not kassi?
Kassi means a box, while kassinn means the box. Icelandic usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun, so the -inn here is the attached word for the.
What form of the verb is vegur?
Vegur is the 3rd person singular present tense of vega, meaning to weigh. It matches the singular subject kassinn. So kassinn vegur literally means the box weighs.
Is vegur also a noun?
Yes. Vegur can also be the noun road. In this sentence, though, it is a verb, because it follows the subject and is used with a quantity expression: mjög lítið.
Why is it lítið instead of lítill or lítil?
Because here Icelandic is not describing the box as small. It is talking about how much it weighs. With verbs like vega, Icelandic often uses forms like mikið and lítið to express quantity.
Compare:
- Kassinn er lítill. = The box is small.
- Kassinn vegur lítið. = The box weighs little.
What does mjög do in the sentence?
Mjög means very. It strengthens lítið, so mjög lítið means very little. Its position before lítið is the normal one.
What case is kassinn in?
It is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence. The basic noun is kassi, and kassinn is the nominative singular definite form.
Is lítið an adjective or an adverb here?
It works in an adverb-like way here, because it tells you how much the box weighs. But formally it is the neuter singular form related to the adjective lítill. In practice, it is best to learn vega lítið and vega mikið as common Icelandic patterns.
Could I also say Kassinn er mjög léttur?
Yes. Kassinn er mjög léttur means The box is very light. That is very close in meaning, but Kassinn vegur mjög lítið focuses more directly on the amount of weight.
How would I turn this into a question?
You would normally put the verb first:
Vegur kassinn mjög lítið?
That is the usual Icelandic pattern for a yes/no question.
Why is there no word for does in the sentence?
Icelandic does not use a helper verb like English do/does in ordinary present-tense sentences. The form vegur already means weighs, so the sentence is complete without anything extra.
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