Breakdown of Vantraustið á stjórninni er mikið.
vera
to be
á
onto / on / in (static location) / on (a day of the week)
mikill
great, much (adjective: snjórinn er mikill)
stjórnin
the government, the board
vantraustið
the distrust
Questions & Answers about Vantraustið á stjórninni er mikið.
How does the prefix van- work in the word vantraustið?
The prefix van- indicates a lack, deficiency, or something done poorly, much like 'dis-', 'under-', or 'mal-' in English. Added to the neuter noun traust (trust), it forms vantraust (distrust or lack of confidence). The -ið at the end is the attached definite article ('the').
Why do we use the preposition á here, and why does it take the dative case in stjórninni?
In English, we say we have trust 'in' an entity, but Icelandic pairs trust-related words (like traust and trú) with the preposition á (on). When á is used abstractly to point to the object of an attitude or emotion, it generally governs the dative case. Thus, the feminine noun stjórnin becomes stjórninni.
Why is the adjective mikið in this specific form?
Predicate adjectives must agree with the noun they describe. The subject of the sentence is vantraustið, which is a neuter noun in the nominative singular. Therefore, the adjective mikill (great or much) must take its neuter nominative singular form, mikið.
I've seen stjórn used in other contexts. What else can it mean besides 'government'?
Stjórn relates to steering or controlling. While it frequently means 'government' in political contexts (often as a shorthand for ríkisstjórn), it is also the standard word for a 'board of directors', 'management', or general 'control' (such as losing control of a vehicle).
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