Breakdown of Dýralæknirinn hjálpar hundinum sem er veikur.
vera
to be
hundurinn
the dog
veikur
sick
hjálpa
to help
sem
who / which / that
dýralæknirinn
the vet
Questions & Answers about Dýralæknirinn hjálpar hundinum sem er veikur.
How does the word sem work in this sentence?
It acts as a relative pronoun, meaning "that" or "who". It connects the main sentence to the extra information about the dog. In Icelandic, you use sem for both people and animals, so you never have to worry about choosing between "who" and "that". Here, sem acts as the subject of the second part of the sentence.
Why is the adjective veikur in the nominative case when hundinum is dative?
This is a great catch! The verb hjálpar forces the dog into the dative case in the first half of the sentence (hundinum). However, the word sem starts a brand new mini-sentence where the dog is the subject ("that is sick"). Because subjects take the nominative case, the adjective describing it must be the nominative masculine singular word veikur.
Just as a refresher, why does hjálpar make the dog dative?
The verb hjálpa (to help) is a dative verb. This means it always forces the person, animal, or thing receiving the help into the dative case. It is a strict rule for this specific verb that you simply have to memorize.
What is the literal breakdown of the word dýralæknirinn?
It is a compound word made from dýra (of animals) and læknir (doctor), followed by the attached definite article -inn (the). So, it literally translates to "the animals' doctor".
Learn Dýralæknirinn hjálpar hundinum sem er veikur and more in Icelandic
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free