Word
Flækjan gæti hugsanlega hafa verið minni.
Meaning
The complication could possibly have been less.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Flækjan gæti hugsanlega hafa verið minni.
vera
to be
lítill
small / a little (small amount)
hafa
to have
geta
to be able to
Questions & Answers about Flækjan gæti hugsanlega hafa verið minni.
Why do we use gæti hafa verið instead of hefði getað verið for 'could have been'?
Normally geta takes the supine form. Why is hafa in the infinitive here instead of the supine haft?
You remembered the rule correctly! Normally, geta requires the supine. However, when used for this specific type of past guess, modern Icelandic uses the infinitive hafa followed by the supine (verið). It is a fixed exception you just have to memorize for 'might have' sentences.
Is flækjan related to physical tangles, or just abstract complications?
It works for both! The root noun flækja can mean a physical tangle, like in a rope or hair, as well as an abstract complication or plot twist. Here, with the definite article -n, it means 'the complication'.
Why does hugsanlega go between gæti and hafa? Could it go elsewhere?
In complex verb chains, adverbs of probability like hugsanlega (possibly) naturally sit right after the first conjugated verb (gæti). You could also put it at the very beginning or end of the sentence for slightly different emphasis, but nesting it inside the verb chain is the most natural word order.