Sagan hjálpar mér að sofa vel.

to sleep

Breakdown of Sagan hjálpar mér að sofa vel.

• vel: well
• hjálpa: to help
• mér: me

Questions & Answers about Sagan hjálpar mér að sofa vel.

What does Sagan literally mean, and why does it end in -an?

Sagan means “the story”.

• Saga = a story (indefinite, basic form, nominative singular)
• Sagan = the story (definite, nominative singular)

In Icelandic, the definite article (“the”) is usually attached to the end of the noun as a suffix, instead of being a separate word as in English. So:

• saga → sag
  • an = sagan (the story)

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How would I say “a story helps me sleep well” instead of “the story helps me sleep well”?

You would simply remove the definite ending -an:

• Saga hjálpar mér að sofa vel.
  = A story helps me sleep well.

So:

• saga = a story
• sagan = the story

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What form of the verb is hjálpar, and why isn’t it hjálpa?