Learn Hardcore Icelandic: Dæmin í bókinni hjálpa mér að muna reglurnar. - The examples in the book help me remember the rules.

dæmin
- Dictionary form: dæmi (neuter noun)
- Basic meaning: example
- Here: dæmin = the examples (nominative plural definite)
í
- Preposition
- Basic meaning: in / into
- With the dative it usually means in (location); with the accusative it often means into (movement).
bókinni
- Dictionary form: bók (feminine noun)
- Basic meaning: book
- Here: bókinni = the book in the dative singular (because of í).
hjálpa
- Dictionary form: að hjálpa (verb)
- Basic meaning: to help
- Here: hjálpa is 3rd person plural present: (they) help.
mér
- Dictionary form: ég (1st person singular pronoun)
- Basic meaning: I
- Here: mér = me in the dative.
að
- Here used as the infinitive marker: to (as in to remember).
muna
- Dictionary form: að muna (verb)
- Basic meaning: to remember.
reglurnar
- Dictionary form: regla (feminine noun)
- Basic meaning: rule
- Here: reglurnar = the rules (accusative plural definite, object of muna).

Why is it dæmin and not something like dæmir for “the examples”?

Because dæmi is a neuter noun, and neuter nouns behave a bit differently:

Dictionary form: dæmi = example
Nominative/accusative singular: dæmi
Nominative/accusative plural: dæmi
Definite singular: dæmið = the example
Definite plural: dæmin = the examples

So:

dæmi = example / examples (indefinite, context decides)
dæmið = the example
dæmin = the examples

There is no ending like -ir here because that kind of plural ending is typical for many masculine nouns, not for neuter nouns like dæmi.

What exactly is going on in í bókinni? Why is it bókinni and what case is that?

Í bókinni literally means in the book.

bók = book (dictionary form, feminine)
bókin = the book (nominative singular definite)
bókinni = the book in dative singular definite

The preposition í can take either:

dative when it means in / inside (location)
- í bókinni = in the book
accusative when it means into (movement)
- í bókina = into the book

In the sentence, we’re talking about where the examples are (location), so í + dative is used: í bókinni.

Why is there no separate word for the in Icelandic, like in English? Why do we get bókinni, reglurnar, dæmin instead?

Icelandic usually attaches the definite article as a suffix to the noun, instead of having a separate word like the.

Examples:

bók = book → bókin = the book
reglur = rules → reglurnar = the rules
dæmi = example(s) → dæmið = the example, dæmin = the examples

Then case endings come into play:

Nominative singular: bókin
Dative singular: bókinni (the extra -ni marks dative feminine)
Nominative/accusative plural: reglurnar
Nominative/accusative plural neuter: dæmin

So when you see these “long” forms like bókinni, you’re seeing:

The stem: bók-
The definite article: -in-
The case/number ending: e.g. -ni for dative feminine singular

All fused into one word.

Why is it hjálpa mér and not hjálpa mig? Why does mér use the dative?

The verb hjálpa (to help) in Icelandic always takes its “person helped” in the dative case, not the accusative.

Pronoun ég (I) declines like this:

Nominative: ég = I
Accusative: mig = me (object, most verbs)
Dative: mér = me (for certain verbs and prepositions)
Genitive: mín

Hjálpa belongs to the group of verbs that “govern” the dative:

Hann hjálpaði mér. = He helped me.
Dæmin í bókinni hjálpa mér. = The examples in the book help me.

Using mig here (hjálpa mig) is ungrammatical in standard Icelandic.

How is hjálpa conjugated in the present tense, and what form is it here?

Að hjálpa = to help

Present tense:

ég hjálpa = I help
þú hjálpar = you (sg.) help
hann / hún / það hjálpar = he / she / it helps
við hjálpum = we help
þið hjálpið = you (pl.) help
þeir / þær / þau hjálpa = they help

In the sentence Dæmin í bókinni hjálpa mér… the subject is dæmin (the examples) = they, so the verb is 3rd person plural present: hjálpa.

What does að mean before muna, and is it the same að I see elsewhere?

Here að is the infinitive marker, equivalent to English to in to remember:

að muna = to remember

Icelandic að can be:

Infinitive marker (as here):
- að lesa = to read
- að muna = to remember
A conjunction meaning roughly that:
- Ég veit að hann kemur. = I know that he is coming.
A preposition meaning to / towards / at, etc. (in other contexts).

In hjálpa mér að muna, it is clearly the infinitive marker: help me to remember.

What is the verb muna exactly, and how is it different from munu?

Að muna means to remember.

Its present tense is irregular:

ég man = I remember
þú manst = you remember
hann / hún / það man = he / she / it remembers
við munum = we remember
þið munið = you (pl.) remember
þeir / þær / þau muna = they remember

Important: muna (remember) vs munu (will, future-like auxiliary):

Að muna = to remember
- Ég man þetta. = I remember this.
Að munu = to will (used to form a kind of future):
- Ég mun koma. = I will come.

Some plural forms of muna and munu look similar (við munum, þið munið), so context is important. In að muna reglurnar, it is clearly to remember the rules, not anything about future tense.

Why is reglurnar in that form? What is the base word, and what case is it here?

The base word is regla = rule (feminine noun).

Relevant forms:

Singular:
- regla = rule
- reglan = the rule (nom. definite)
Plural:
- reglur = rules
- reglurnar = the rules (nominative/accusative plural definite)

In að muna reglurnar:

muna takes a direct object in the accusative (what you remember).
reglurnar is accusative plural definite = the rules.

Nominative plural definite would look the same (reglurnar), but here the role in the sentence (object of muna) tells you it’s accusative.

Could the word order be different, like Mér hjálpa dæmin í bókinni að muna reglurnar? How flexible is Icelandic word order here?

Yes, Icelandic word order is more flexible than English because case endings mark who does what.

Possible variants:

Dæmin í bókinni hjálpa mér að muna reglurnar.
Neutral: The examples in the book help me remember the rules.
Mér hjálpa dæmin í bókinni að muna reglurnar.
Still correct, but with more emphasis on mér (to me):
Something like: It’s me that the examples in the book help to remember the rules.
Dæmin hjálpa mér að muna reglurnar í bókinni.
This can sound like the rules in the book, not just the examples in the book, so the meaning shifts.

Key points:

Basic, safest order is Subject – Verb – Object – other stuff, like in English.
Moving phrases around changes emphasis or even meaning, so as a learner, sticking to the original order is a good idea until you’re comfortable with the cases.

Can you drop að and just say hjálpa mér muna reglurnar, like English “help me remember the rules”?

No, not in standard Icelandic. After hjálpa, you normally use að + infinitive:

hjálpa mér að muna reglurnar = help me (to) remember the rules

Without að (hjálpa mér muna reglurnar) sounds wrong to native speakers.

English allows both help me remember and help me to remember; Icelandic in this structure requires að before the infinitive.

How would you say some simple variations, like “The examples in this book help us remember these rules”?

You can use the same structure and swap words:

Dæmin í þessari bók hjálpa okkur að muna þessar reglur.

Breakdown:

þessi bók (nom.) → þessari bók (dat. sg. fem.) → í þessari bók = in this book
við (we) → okkur (dat. pl.) = us
þessar reglur = these rules (acc. pl. fem., no article needed because þessar already means these)

Pattern to follow:

Dæmin í X hjálpa Y að muna Z.
- X = bókinni / þessari bók / nýju bókinni (in the book / in this book / in the new book)
- Y (dative) = mér / þér / honum / okkur / ykkur / þeim (me, you, him, us, you pl., them)
- Z (accusative) = reglurnar / þessar reglur / orðaforðann (the rules / these rules / the vocabulary)

How do you pronounce Dæmin í bókinni hjálpa mér að muna reglurnar?

Approximate IPA (standard Reykjavík pronunciation):

Dæmin → [ˈtaiːmɪn]
í → [iː]
bókinni → [ˈpouːcɪnɪ]
hjálpa → [ˈçaul̥pa]
- hj- is like a voiceless hy sound, a bit like German ich
  - j
mér → [mjɛr]
að → [aːð] (often a bit reduced)
muna → [ˈmʏːna]
reglurnar → [ˈrɛklʏrnar̥]

Main stress is on the first syllable of each content word: DÆY-min í BÓK-inni HJÁL-pa mér að MÚ-na RE-glur-nar.