Question 1

Why does það er mikið hlegið mean "people laugh a lot" if there is no word for "people"?

Accepted Answer

This is an impersonal passive construction. To express that a general action is happening without saying who is doing it, Icelandic uses það er (it is) plus the neuter singular past participle of an intransitive verb. Literally, this phrase translates to "it is much laughed," which we naturally say in English as "people laugh a lot" or "there is a lot of laughing."

Question 2

What verb does hlegið come from? The spelling looks very different from the infinitive.

Accepted Answer

Hlegið is the neuter singular past participle of the verb hlæja (to laugh). Because hlæja is a strong verb, its stem vowel changes in the past participle form, shifting from an æ to an e. In impersonal passive sentences like this one, the participle is always in this neuter singular form.

Question 3

Why is mikið used here instead of another word for "a lot"?

Accepted Answer

Here, mikið is acting as an adverb to describe the intensity of the action, meaning "much" or "a lot." When Icelandic uses an adjective to act as an adverb describing a verb, it takes the neuter singular form, which is why it is mikið.

Question 4

How do you break down the compound noun skemmtiatriðið?

Accepted Answer

It combines skemmti- (a prefix used for things related to entertainment or amusement, from the verb skemmta) with the neuter noun atriði (meaning an item, point, or act). The -ð at the very end is the attached neuter definite article, altogether meaning "the entertainment act."

Skemmtiatriðið er hápunkturinn og það er mikið hlegið.

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