Friður hjálpar mér að sofa vel.

to sleep

Breakdown of Friður hjálpar mér að sofa vel.

• vel: well
• hjálpa: to help
• mér: me
• friður: the peace

Questions & Answers about Friður hjálpar mér að sofa vel.

Why is mér used instead of mig?

The verb hjálpa (“to help”) requires its object in the dative case, not the accusative. So “me” in Icelandic becomes mér (dative) rather than mig (accusative).

Why is there að before sofa?

Icelandic uses the particle að (like English “to”) before infinitive verbs when they form a subordinate clause. After many verbs—hjálpa included—you must introduce the action you help with by saying að + infinitive (here að sofa).

Could we omit að and say Friður hjálpar mér sofa vel?

No. Unlike English, Icelandic doesn’t allow you to drop að in this construction. The infinitive marker að is mandatory after hjálpa.

What about adding til (“for”) as in Friður hjálpar mér til að sofa vel?

That’s also correct. Hjálpa einhverjum til að gera e-ð is a common, slightly more emphatic pattern. Both
• Friður hjálpar mér að sofa vel
and
• Friður hjálpar mér til að sofa vel
mean the same thing.

Why is vel used here, and not an adjective like góður?

Vel is an adverb meaning “well” and modifies the verb sofa (“sleep”). Adjectives such as góður (“good”) only modify nouns (e.g. góð nótt = “good night”), so you need vel when describing how you sleep.

Could Friður here mean the abstract noun “peace” rather than a person’s name?

Yes. Written with a capital letter at the start of a sentence it looks like a name, but the lowercase noun friður means “peace.” Context tells you if it’s a person named Friður or the concept of peace helping you sleep.

Why is the word order Friður hjálpar mér að sofa vel and not something like Friður mér hjálpar að sofa vel?

Icelandic main clauses follow the V2 rule— the finite verb (hjálpar) must be in second position. Here it’s:

1. Subject (Friður)
2. Verb (hjálpar)
3. Object (mér)
4. Infinitive clause (að sofa vel)

How do you pronounce Friður hjálpar mér að sofa vel?

A rough guide in IPA:
• Friður [ˈfrɪːðʏr] (ð = voiced “th” as in English “then”)
• hjálpar [ˈçaul̥pʰar] (hj = palatal h + j)
• mér [mjɛːr]
• að [að] (again ð = voiced “th”)
• sofa [ˈsɔːva]
• vel [vɛl]