Breakdown of Vitavörðurinn hefur ýmist áhyggjur af veðrinu eða er alveg rólegur.
vera
to be
veðrið
the weather
af
off
eða
or
hafa
to have
áhyggjurnar
the worries
rólegur
calm
alveg
completely, totally
ýmist
sometimes / alternately (by turns)
vitavörðurinn
the lighthouse keeper
Questions & Answers about Vitavörðurinn hefur ýmist áhyggjur af veðrinu eða er alveg rólegur.
Why does this sentence use ýmist ... eða instead of annaðhvort ... eða?
The pair ýmist ... eða specifically describes a situation that alternates back and forth between two things over time (sometimes A, sometimes B). If you used annaðhvort ... eða, it would mean an exclusive 'either A or B' (he is either worried or calm, but we don't know which, or it can only be one of them at all times).
Notice the word order: why does hefur come before ýmist, while er comes after eða?
ýmist acts as an adverb here. In a standard main clause, the first verb (hefur) must take the strict second position (V2 rule), placing ýmist right after it. eða is a coordinating conjunction joining the two verb phrases. Therefore, the second verb (er) follows eða to start the second part of the action.
Why is the word for 'weather' in the dative case (veðrinu)?
It is controlled by the preposition af. The fixed phrase for 'to worry about something' is að hafa áhyggjur af, and the preposition af always forces the following noun into the dative case.
What dictates the ending on rólegur (calm) at the very end of the sentence?
rólegur is an adjective describing the subject, vitavörðurinn (the lighthouse keeper). Even though they are separated by the entire sentence, the adjective must agree with the noun. Since vörður is a masculine noun in the nominative singular case here, the adjective takes the masculine nominative singular ending -ur.
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