Breakdown of Ég vil bara lítið af klinki.
ég
I
lítill
small / a little (small amount)
bara
just / only
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
af
of (in quantity expressions)
klinkið
the change
Questions & Answers about Ég vil bara lítið af klinki.
Why do we use lítið af here instead of just saying lítið klink?
When talking about an uncountable amount of a mass noun (like water, sand, or loose change), Icelandic uses mikið af (much of / a lot of) or lítið af (little of). So instead of just "little change", the structure literally translates to "little of change".
Why does the word for "change" end in an "i" here (klinki)?
The preposition af always forces the noun that follows it into the dative case. The dictionary form of the word is klink (a neuter noun), and its dative form adds an -i to the end, making it klinki.
I thought the verb for "want" was vilja. Why is it ég vil instead of ég vilja?
Vilja is the infinitive (to want), but it is a highly irregular verb. For "I want" and "he/she/it wants", the correct present tense form is simply vil. It doesn't take the typical verb endings you might expect.
Does klink mean "change" in every sense, like changing my clothes?
No, klink specifically means "loose change" or coins. If you are talking about the act of changing something (like changing your clothes, your mind, or your plans), you would use a completely different word, usually a verb like breyta or skipta.
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