Breakdown of Hverjum vill sálfræðingurinn hjálpa í dag?
hver
who / what / which (one)
í dag
today
vilja
to want (to will, be willing)
hjálpa
to help
sálfræðingurinn
the psychologist
Questions & Answers about Hverjum vill sálfræðingurinn hjálpa í dag?
Why is the sentence using Hverjum instead of Hver?
Hverjum is the dative form of the question word hver (who). It takes this form because the verb hjálpa (to help) dictates that the person receiving the help must be in the dative case.
Doesn't the verb vilja (to want) usually take the accusative case? Why does hjálpa get to decide the case here?
That is correct; if you want a direct noun object, it goes in the accusative. But here, the main action being done to the object is hjálpa (helping). The verb vilja just acts as a helper verb linking to the infinitive hjálpa, so hjálpa gets to apply its strict dative rule to the pronoun hverjum.
Why does sálfræðingurinn stay in the nominative case if it comes after the verb?
The psychologist is the subject of the sentence: the person who wants to do the helping. Even though the Icelandic question structure pushes the subject after the verb, the subject always remains in the nominative case. The -inn ending is simply the masculine definite article (the) in the nominative.
Can I say Hverjum sálfræðingurinn vill hjálpa í dag?
No, because Icelandic strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule. Since the question word Hverjum takes up the first slot, the conjugated verb vill must be in the second slot. The subject sálfræðingurinn is then forced into the third position.
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