Breakdown of Bræðurnir uppörva hvor annan fyrir prófið.
bróðirinn
the brother
prófið
the exam
hvor annar
each other
fyrir
before (time)
uppörva
to encourage
Questions & Answers about Bræðurnir uppörva hvor annan fyrir prófið.
Why do we use hvor annan in this sentence instead of hver annan?
In Icelandic, the choice depends on how many people are involved. hvor annan is strictly used when there are exactly two people. By using hvor, this sentence clearly implies there are exactly two brothers. If there were three or more brothers, we would have to use hver annan.
Why is hvor in the nominative case but annan in the accusative?
This highlights the "split case" rule for reciprocal pronouns. The first half (hvor) always stays in the nominative case, almost acting like a secondary subject. The second half (annan) takes the case demanded by the verb. Since the verb uppörva (to encourage) takes an accusative object, the second half becomes accusative.
How would hvor annan change if the sentence was about two sisters instead of two brothers?
Both halves of the pronoun must agree with the grammatical gender of the people involved. Since sisters (systurnar) are feminine, the nominative singular is hvor and the accusative singular is aðra. The sentence would be: Systurnar uppörva hvor aðra fyrir prófið.
Why does the preposition fyrir take the accusative case (prófið) here?
The preposition fyrir takes the accusative case when it means "before" in a temporal sense, as it does here (before the exam). When fyrir takes the dative case, it usually refers to a physical position, meaning "in front of".
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