Breakdown of Áttu mikið af klinki í kassanum?
þú
you
mikið
a lot
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
kassinn
the box
eiga
to own / to have (a relationship)
af
of (in quantity expressions)
klinkið
the change
Questions & Answers about Áttu mikið af klinki í kassanum?
Why is the word for change klinki instead of klink?
The phrase mikið af (a lot of) always forces the noun that follows into the dative case. Klink is a neuter mass noun, and its dative form is klinki. You will see this pattern whenever you use mikið af or lítið af with uncountable things.
I see the verb átt (have/own), but where is the word for 'you'?
It is attached directly to the verb! Áttu is a very common blended form of átt (you have) and the pronoun þú (you). Icelanders merge these words naturally in questions.
Why do we use the neuter form mikið instead of mikill or mikil here?
When referring to an uncountable amount of something, Icelandic uses the neuter singular form. The phrase mikið af functions as a fixed unit meaning 'a large amount of' regardless of the gender of the noun that comes after it.
Why does kassi (box) change to kassanum at the end of the sentence?
The preposition í (in) takes the dative case when describing a stationary location. Because the change is just sitting in the box, the masculine noun kassi takes its dative form kassa. Adding the definite article for 'the' makes it kassanum.
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