Breakdown of Ég er að hjálpa starfsmanninum sem þú ert að benda á.
vera
to be
ég
I
þú
you
að
to (infinitive marker)
hjálpa
to help
sem
who / which / that
á
to/at (with verbs of perception: hlusta á, horfa á)
starfsmaðurinn
the employee
benda
to point
Questions & Answers about Ég er að hjálpa starfsmanninum sem þú ert að benda á.
Why is the preposition á at the very end of the sentence?
In Icelandic relative clauses starting with sem (that/who), if a verb is used with a preposition, the preposition gets left at the end of the clause. This is called preposition stranding, and it works exactly like the English translation: the employee that you are pointing at.
Why is the employee in the dative case (starfsmanninum)?
The verb hjálpa (to help) always requires its object to be in the dative case. The base word starfsmaður (employee) becomes starfsmanni in the dative, and adding the definite article for the makes it starfsmanninum.
Why does starfsmanninum look so different from the base word starfsmaður?
Starfsmaður is a compound word made of starf (work) and maður (person/man). When you decline compound words, only the final part changes. The dative form of maður is manni, so the whole word shifts to starfsmanni before adding the definite article -num.
What is the purpose of að in er að hjálpa and ert að benda?
This is the Icelandic continuous present tense. Just like the English -ing form, it shows an action is happening right now. You form it using the verb vera (to be), the particle að, and the infinitive of the action verb.
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