Starfsmaðurinn hjálpar okkur að skrá okkur.

to help

Breakdown of Starfsmaðurinn hjálpar okkur að skrá okkur.

• okkur: us
• starfsmaðurinn: the employee
• skrá sig: to register

Questions & Answers about Starfsmaðurinn hjálpar okkur að skrá okkur.

Why is okkur used twice?

Because it belongs to two different verbs. The first okkur is the person being helped by hjálpar (which takes the dative), and the second okkur is the object of að skrá (which takes the accusative). In 1st person plural, the dative and accusative forms happen to be identical (okkur), so you see the same form twice for two different grammatical roles.

What cases are the two okkur, exactly?

• After hjálpar: dative (since hjálpa e-m = “help someone” takes dative).
• After (að) skrá: accusative (since skrá e-n = “register someone” takes accusative). You can see the difference clearly in the singular: Hann hjálpar mér að skrá mig.

Is the second okkur “reflexive”?

Functionally, yes—it means “ourselves.” But Icelandic only has a special reflexive pronoun sig for 3rd person. In 1st and 2nd person you use the regular object pronouns: mig, þig, okkur, ykkur (not a special reflexive form).

Why can’t we use sig instead of the second okkur?

Because sig is 3rd person reflexive and refers to the subject of the nearest finite clause. In Starfsmaðurinn hjálpar okkur að skrá sig, the sig would refer to Starfsmaðurinn (“to register himself”), which is not the intended meaning.