Breakdown of Оба сканера работают каждый день, за исключением воскресенья.
день
day
работать
to work
воскресенье
Sunday
каждый
every
Questions & Answers about Оба сканера работают каждый день, за исключением воскресенья.
Why is воскресенья in the genitive case here?
It directly follows the compound preposition за исключением (with the exception of). This formal phrase always requires the noun or pronoun that follows it to be in the genitive case.
Wait, isn't исключением in the instrumental case? Why does the following word take the genitive?
You are right that исключением is the instrumental form of исключение (exception), triggered by the preposition за. However, the phrase за исключением acts as one fixed compound preposition. The noun that comes after it essentially answers the question "an exception of what?", which naturally requires the genitive case.
Why do we say оба сканера instead of using the plural form сканеры?
The word оба (both) behaves grammatically like the numbers 2, 3, and 4. When it modifies a masculine or neuter noun in the nominative or inanimate accusative case, it requires that noun to be in the genitive singular. Since сканер is masculine, it becomes сканера.
If сканера is in the singular form, why does the sentence use the plural verb работают?