Breakdown of Ef þig vantar hjálp, neita ég ekki.
ég
I
þú
you
ekki
not
vanta
to need (to lack)
hjálpin
the help
ef
if
neita
to refuse
Questions & Answers about Ef þig vantar hjálp, neita ég ekki.
Why is it þig instead of þú in the first clause?
The verb vanta (to lack or need) is an impersonal verb. Instead of a standard nominative subject, it requires the person who needs something to be in the accusative case (þig).
What case is hjálp in, and why?
It is in the accusative case. The verb vanta is a double accusative verb, meaning both the person needing (þig) and the thing needed (hjálp) must be accusative. Because hjálp is a feminine noun, its accusative form looks exactly like its nominative form.
Why is the word order neita ég rather than ég neita?
This is due to the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire if-clause (Ef þig vantar hjálp) occupies the first position in the sentence. To keep the main verb (neita) in the second position, the subject (ég) has to swap places and come right after it.
If I wanted to add the word 'that' to the end (I do not refuse that), how would I use a demonstrative pronoun here?
The verb neita requires its object to be in the dative case. To add the word that, you would use því, which is the dative neuter form of the demonstrative pronoun sá. The second half of the sentence would then become neita ég því ekki.
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