Breakdown of Þeir skiptast á að vinna yfirvinnu annað hvert kvöld.
þeir
they (m)
að
to (infinitive marker)
kvöldið
the evening
vinna
to work (general labor, to do work)
annar hver
every other (m) / önnur hver (f) / annað hvert (n)
skiptast á
to take turns
yfirvinnan
the overtime
Questions & Answers about Þeir skiptast á að vinna yfirvinnu annað hvert kvöld.
Why is annað hvert used here, and why is it in the accusative case?
Annað hvert means 'every other' and modifies the neuter noun kvöld (evening). In Icelandic, phrases describing how often something happens (temporal frequency) take the accusative case. Because kvöld is neuter, both words in the phrase take their neuter accusative forms: annað and hvert.
If we changed kvöld (evening) to dagur (day), how would the phrase annað hvert change?
Dagur is a masculine noun. Since time frequency requires the accusative case, you must use the masculine accusative forms of both words. The phrase would become annan hvern dag (every other day).
Why does the verb skiptast end in -st, and how does it work with á?
Skiptast is the middle voice form of skipta (to divide or change), which you can spot by the -st ending. When you combine skiptast, the preposition á, and an action like að vinna (to work), the phrase skiptast á að gera eitthvað means 'to take turns doing something'.
Why is the word for overtime, yfirvinnu, in the accusative case?
It is the direct object of the verb vinna (to work). The dictionary form is the feminine noun yfirvinna, which changes to yfirvinnu in the accusative.
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