When talking about charity, volunteering, or helping those in need, you will often use indefinite pronouns like "everyone," "someone," or "no one."
Just like nouns and regular pronouns, these indefinite pronouns must decline based on the verb in the sentence. Many verbs related to giving or assisting require their object to be in the dative case. Common examples include að hjálpa (to help), að gagnast (to benefit), and að veita (to grant).
When referring to people in general, you will use these plural forms:
| English | Nominative | Dative |
|---|---|---|
| Everyone | allir | öllum |
| Someone | einhverjir | einhverjum |
| No one | engir | engum |
Öllum (Everyone)
When an action helps or benefits everyone, use öllum.
| The charity work benefits everyone. | Góðgerðarstarfið gagnast öllum. |
| When the distress was great, the volunteer helped everyone. | Þegar neyðin var mikil hjálpaði sjálfboðaliðinn öllum. |
Einhverjum (Someone)
When a grant or assistance is given to "someone," use einhverjum.
| The organization grants the contribution to someone. | Samtökin veita einhverjum framlagið. |
| The volunteer was helping someone with the cause. | Sjálfboðaliðinn var að hjálpa einhverjum með málefnið. |
Engum (No one)
If an action helps or reaches "no one," the dative pronoun is engum.
| The cause benefits no one now. | Málefnið gagnast engum núna. |
| We help everyone, but the organization helps no one. | Við hjálpum öllum, en samtökin hjálpa engum. |
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