Breakdown of Ég hjálpa honum, en ég umbuna sjálfri mér.
ég
I
en
but
mér
me (dative)
hjálpa
to help
honum
him (dative)
sjálfur
self, oneself
umbuna
to reward
Questions & Answers about Ég hjálpa honum, en ég umbuna sjálfri mér.
Why is sjálfri mér used here instead of just mér?
While mér on its own can mean "myself" when the subject of the sentence is also ég, adding the intensifying pronoun sjálfri creates a strong contrast. It emphasizes the shift in action: I help him, but I reward myself.
Why is it the feminine form sjálfri instead of sjálfum?
The intensifying pronoun sjálfur (self) has to agree in gender, number, and case with the pronoun it describes. Here, it is in the dative case to match mér. Because it takes the feminine dative form sjálfri, we know the speaker identifies as female. If a male were speaking, he would say sjálfum mér.
Why do both honum and sjálfri mér take the dative case?
Both of the verbs in this sentence dictate that their objects must be in the dative case. The verb hjálpa (to help) always takes a dative object, and so does umbuna (to reward).
If we know the speaker is female, why doesn't the pronoun ég change?
The personal pronoun ég (I) does not have different gendered forms; it is exactly the same for everyone. However, adjectives and modifying words that point back to it—like the intensifier sjálfur—do change to reflect the speaker's gender.
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