Breakdown of Ég hjálpa keppandanum af því að heimsmetið er mikilvægast.
vera
to be
ég
I
hjálpa
to help
af því að
because
mikilvægur
important
keppandinn
the competitor
heimsmetið
the world record
Questions & Answers about Ég hjálpa keppandanum af því að heimsmetið er mikilvægast.
Why is the superlative mikilvægast here instead of mikilvægastur?
The adjective must agree in gender with the noun it describes. Here, it describes heimsmetið (the world record), which is a neuter noun. The strong masculine superlative is mikilvægastur, but the strong neuter singular form drops the -ur, leaving just mikilvægast.
Why is the word for competitor (keppandi) in the dative case here?
The verb hjálpa (to help) always forces the person or thing being helped into the dative case.
How exactly is keppandanum formed?
Keppandi is a weak masculine noun, meaning it ends in -i in the dictionary. In the dative case, that -i changes to an -a, making it keppanda. To say the competitor, we add the dative masculine definite article -num to the end, resulting in keppandanum.
Why does it take three words (af því að) to say "because"?
In Icelandic, "because" is usually expressed with this set three-word phrase, which literally translates to "of that that." It acts as a single unit linking the two halves of the sentence.
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