Breakdown of Hún borðaði minna þegar hún var veik.
vera
to be
hún
she
veikur
sick
borða
to eat
þegar
when
minna
less
Questions & Answers about Hún borðaði minna þegar hún var veik.
Is minna an adverb or an adjective here?
It is an adverb. minna is the comparative form of the adverb lítið (little). Because it describes how much she ate (the verb borðaði), it acts as an adverb of comparison meaning "less".
Could I use minni instead of minna in this sentence?
No, because minni is an adjective used to describe a noun (for example, a "smaller" house). Since we are describing the action of eating, we need the adverb form minna.
Why does the sentence use þegar for "when" instead of hvenær?
We use þegar to connect two parts of a sentence, meaning "at the time that". The word hvenær is strictly a question word used to ask "when?" (as in, "When did she get sick?").
Why is the word for sick veik instead of veikur?
Adjectives in Icelandic change to match the noun they describe. Because veik describes hún (she), it takes the feminine singular form. The default dictionary form is masculine (veikur), but the feminine form drops the -ur ending.
Learn Hún borðaði minna þegar hún var veik and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free