Breakdown of Mér líkar tónlistin mjög vel.
mjög
very
vel
well
mér
me (dative)
líka
to like
tónlistin
the music
Questions & Answers about Mér líkar tónlistin mjög vel.
Why does the sentence start with Mér instead of Ég?
The verb líka (to like) requires a quirky subject. This means the person who likes something must be in the dative case, which is Mér (to me), instead of the usual Ég (I).
Since Mér is the one doing the liking, why isn't the verb conjugated for the first person?
With quirky subject verbs like líka, the verb actually agrees with the thing being liked, which stays in the regular nominative case. Since tónlistin (the music) is a singular thing, the verb takes the third-person singular form líkar.
How do we get tónlistin from the base word for music?
In Icelandic, the word for 'the' is attached to the end of the noun. The base feminine noun is tónlist (music), and -in is the definite article added to the end to make it tónlistin (the music).
Why does the sentence use vel (well) when the English translation says 'much'?
In Icelandic, you do not say you like something 'much' or 'a lot'. The verb líka is always paired with vel (well) to say you like something, or illa (badly) to say you dislike it. So mjög vel translates directly to 'very well'.
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