Breakdown of Við höfum hjólað mikið og bætt metið.
og
and
við
we
mikið
a lot
hjóla
to cycle
hafa
to have
bæta
to improve
metið
the record
Questions & Answers about Við höfum hjólað mikið og bætt metið.
Why does hjólað end in -að but bætt ends in -t?
This highlights the difference between weak verb groups! Hjóla is a Group 1 verb, which always forms the supine (the form used after hafa) by ending in -að. Bæta belongs to Group 2. To find the supine of a Group 2 verb, you take its past tense form (bætti) and drop the final -i, leaving you with bætt.
Do I need to repeat höfum before bætt?
No, you don't. Just like in English ('We have cycled... and improved...'), you only need to use the helper verb höfum once. It applies to both hjólað and bætt because they are connected by og.
Why is the word for 'the record' written as metið?
Metið is the neuter noun met (record) with the definite article suffix -ið attached to mean 'the record'. The verb bæta requires its object to be in the accusative case. For neuter nouns, the accusative form looks exactly the same as the nominative dictionary form.
Isn't mikið an adjective? Why is it used here after a verb?
While mikið is the neuter form of the adjective mikill, it is very commonly used as an adverb meaning 'a lot'. Here, it acts as an adverb to describe how much we cycled.
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