Breakdown of Við þrífum hvert klósett tvisvar í viku.
við
we
í
in / into / to (before the hour, in telling time) / per (in frequency expressions)
vikan
the week (f)
þrífa
to clean
tvisvar
twice
hver
each / every
klósettið
the toilet
Questions & Answers about Við þrífum hvert klósett tvisvar í viku.
Why do we use hvert in this sentence instead of hver?
hvert is the neuter accusative singular form of the indefinite pronoun hver (each/every). It takes the neuter form to agree with the noun klósett, and the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb þrífum (we clean).
Does the word klósett stay the same in both the nominative and accusative cases?
Yes. klósett is a neuter noun, and in Icelandic, all neuter nouns have the exact same form in the nominative and accusative cases. We only know it is accusative here because of its role in the sentence and the pronoun hvert modifying it.
Why is the word for week (vika) written as viku here?
When talking about how often something happens (frequency), the preposition í takes the dative case. viku is the dative singular form of the feminine noun vika.
Why is there no word for "a" in tvisvar í viku (twice a week)?
Icelandic does not have an indefinite article (words like "a" or "an" in English). To say "twice a week", you build the phrase literally as "twice in week" (tvisvar í viku).
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