Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera róleg.

Stable housing and stable work help the family to be calm.

Breakdown of Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera róleg.

• vera: to be
• vinna: the work
• og: and
• fjölskylda: the family
• hjálpa: to help
• rólegur: calm
• húsnæði: the housing
• stöðugur: stable

Questions & Answers about Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera róleg.

Why is it stöðugt húsnæði but stöðug vinna? Why are the endings different?

Both stöðugt and stöðug come from the same adjective stöðugur (stable, steady).
The ending changes because the adjective has to agree with the gender of the noun:

• húsnæði is neuter singular → nominative neuter singular of the adjective is stöðugt
  
  • stöðugt húsnæði = stable housing
• vinna is feminine singular → nominative feminine singular is stöðug
  
  • stöðug vinna = steady work

So:

• masculine: stöðugur maður (a steady man)
• feminine: stöðug kona (a steady woman)
• neuter: stöðugt húsnæði (stable housing)

Is húsnæði singular or plural, and what kind of noun is it?

Húsnæði is grammatically neuter singular, but it is usually a mass noun, a bit like English housing or accommodation.

Key points:

• Dictionary form: húsnæði (neuter)
• Typical forms:
  • nominative: húsnæði
  • accusative: húsnæði
  • dative: húsnæði
  • genitive: húsnæðis
• It normally doesn’t have a regular plural (húsnæði already implies a general amount of housing/accommodation).

That’s why the adjective before it is neuter singular: stöðugt húsnæði.

Why is the verb hjálpa in the form hjálpa, not hjálpar?

The subject is two things together, so the verb must be 3rd person plural:

• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna = Stable housing and steady work → two coordinated nouns.
• 3rd person singular of hjálpa: hjálpar
• 3rd person plural of hjálpa: hjálpa

So:

• Stöðug vinna hjálpar fjölskyldunni… → Steady work helps the family… (singular subject)
• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa fjölskyldunni… → Stable housing and steady work help the family… (plural subject)

What is the base form of fjölskyldunni, and which case is it?

The base (dictionary) form is fjölskylda (family), which is feminine.

In the sentence we have fjölskyldunni, which is:

• dative singular
• definite (with the article -in)

Declension (singular):

• nominative: fjölskylda (a family)
• accusative: fjölskyldu
• dative: fjölskyldu
• genitive: fjölskyldu

With the definite article:

• nominative: fjölskyldan (the family)
• dative: fjölskyldunni* → fjölskylda + -in → fjölskyldun
  • +
  -ni (spelling: fjölskyldunni)

So fjölskyldunni = to/for the family (the family, in dative).

Why is fjölskyldunni in the dative case after hjálpa?

The verb hjálpa (to help) always takes the dative case for the person being helped.

Pattern:

• að hjálpa einhverjum = to help someone
  (einhverjum is dative of einhver someone)

Examples:

• Ég hjálpa barninu.
  I help the child.
  (barnið → barninu in dative)

• Við hjálpum fjölskyldunni.
  We help the family.

So in the sentence:

• hjálpa fjölskyldunni = help the family (family in dative, because of hjálpa).

Why do we have að vera instead of something like er or sé?

Here að is the infinitive marker, like English to in to be.

• vera = to be (infinitive)
• að vera = to be

The construction is:

• að hjálpa [einhverjum] að [gera eitthvað]
• to help [someone] to [do something]

So:

• hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera róleg
  = help the family to be calm

If you wanted a finite verb instead of an infinitive, you’d use a different structure, for example:

• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa til með að fjölskyldan sé róleg.
  (…help so that the family is/shall be calm.)

But in your sentence, að vera is an infinitive clause depending on hjálpa.

Why is it róleg, not rólega or rólegri?

Róleg here is a predicate adjective, agreeing with fjölskylda (family), which is feminine singular.

• Base adjective: rólegur (calm).
• Feminine singular nominative: róleg.

Predicate adjectives in Icelandic:

• agree in gender and number with the subject or the thing they describe
• are in the nominative case, even if the noun is in another case

So:

• fjölskyldan er róleg = the family is calm
• hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera róleg = help the family to be calm

Rólega is usually the adverb form (calmly), or feminine dative/accusative in some contexts, but here we need an adjective, not an adverb.

Rólegri is the comparative form (calmer), which would change the meaning:

• hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera rólegri = help the family to be calmer.

If fjölskyldunni is dative, why isn’t róleg also in the dative, like rólegri or rólegri fjölskyldu?

This is an important point: predicate adjectives in Icelandic take the nominative case, not the case of the noun in forms like this.

Compare:

• Ég sé rólega fjölskyldu.
  I see a calm family.

  • fjölskyldu = accusative
  • rólega agrees in accusative feminine singular

• Fjölskyldan er róleg.
  The family is calm.

  • fjölskyldan = nominative
  • róleg = nominative feminine singular

In your sentence:

• fjölskyldunni is dative (because of hjálpa)
• að vera róleg is like to be calm about that same family,
• so róleg is nominative feminine singular, agreeing with the underlying subject (fjölskyldan), not with the dative ending.

So even though you see -unni, the adjective doesn’t copy that case; it stays in nominative as a predicate.

Which word does róleg actually describe here: the housing, the work, or the family?

Róleg describes fjölskyldan (the family).

Structure:

• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna
  = the things doing the helping (subject)
• hjálpa fjölskyldunni
  = they help the family (indirect object, dative)
• að vera róleg
  = to be calm – what the family is being helped to be

So the meaning is:

Stable housing and steady work help the family to be calm.

Housing and work are stöðugt and stöðug, but the family is róleg.

Could the word order change? For example, can fjölskyldunni be moved, or must it stay there?

Icelandic word order is fairly flexible, but some positions are more natural.

Your sentence:

• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa fjölskyldunni að vera róleg.

This is a very natural order:

1. Subject: Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna
2. Verb: hjálpa
3. Indirect object: fjölskyldunni
4. Infinitive clause: að vera róleg

You could move fjölskyldunni around a bit, but some options become unnatural or ambiguous. For example:

• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa að vera róleg fjölskyldunni.
  This sounds wrong/awkward.

• Stöðugt húsnæði og stöðug vinna hjálpa því að fjölskyldan sé róleg.
  This is grammatical but a different structure (help so that the family is calm).

For learners, it’s best to keep the pattern:

• [Subject] + [verb] + [indirect object in dative] + [að + infinitive].

How do you pronounce tricky parts like stöðugt, húsnæði, and fjölskyldunni?

Approximate guidance using English-like hints:

• stöðugt

  • stö- like stuh but with rounded lips (like stuh with an ö sound, similar to German ö in schön).
  • ð is a voiced “th” (as in this), but here it can be very soft, almost disappearing.
  • -ugt: roughly oogt, but short; the g and t can blend, often sounding like ukt.

• húsnæði

  • hús-: ú is like oo in food: hoos.
  • -næ-: æ is like eye: nai.
  • -ði: again ð is the voiced th, and i is like short i in bit → thih.
    Roughly: HOOS-nai-thi (with a soft th).

• fjölskyldunni

  • fjö-: fj is like fy in few, and ö like German ö in schön: fyoe.
  • -lskyl-: llsk is tricky; in slow careful speech it’s like tlsk, and y is like i in bit.
  • -unni: u like u in put, double nn clearly pronounced, i like i in bit.
    Very roughly: FYÖL-skil-duh-ni, with stress on the first syllable: FJÖL-skyldunni.

How do I know the genders of húsnæði, vinna, and fjölskylda? Are there patterns?

There are some patterns, but many common nouns have to be memorized.

• húsnæði – neuter

  • Many -i ending mass nouns are neuter, but this is not a strict rule.
  • You mostly learn this one by vocabulary practice.

• vinna – feminine

  • Many -a ending nouns are feminine (especially if they refer to abstract concepts or roles), but again not always.

• fjölskylda – feminine

  • -a ending and refers to a group of people; again, often feminine.

Practical tip:

• Always learn new nouns as [article] + noun:
  • húsnæði (hk.) (hk. = hvorugkyn, neuter)
  • vinna (kvk.) (kvk. = kvenkyn, feminine)
  • fjölskylda (kvk.)

Dictionaries usually mark kk. (masculine), kvk. (feminine), hk. (neuter).