Breakdown of Ég hjálpa honum af því að hann er veikur.
vera
to be
ég
I
hann
he
veikur
sick
hjálpa
to help
honum
him (dative)
af því að
because
Questions & Answers about Ég hjálpa honum af því að hann er veikur.
Why is the word for 'because' made up of three words (af því að)?
In Icelandic, af því að is the standard phrase for 'because'. It literally translates to 'of it that'. The word að (that) is a conjunction, which means it acts as a bridge connecting your reason to the first half of the sentence.
Does the word order change after af því að?
No, and that is great news! After af því að, you use the normal word order: subject (hann), then verb (er), exactly as you would if it were a standalone sentence.
Why do we use honum instead of hann after the verb?
The verb hjálpa (to help) always forces the person receiving the help into the dative case. The dative form of the pronoun hann (he) is honum.
Why does the adjective for sick end in '-ur' (veikur)?
Adjectives in Icelandic change their endings to match the word they describe. Because hann (he) is a masculine pronoun, the adjective veikur (sick) takes the standard masculine ending -ur.
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