The Relative Pronoun "Mikä"
| which (relative pronoun) | mikä |
You already know that the relative pronoun joka is used to refer back to a specific noun. However, when you need to refer back to an entire preceding sentence or clause, you must use the relative pronoun mikä (which).
This structure is extremely common when you want to offer commentary or state your reaction to a situation you just described. To add emphasis, these reactions are often paired with adverbs like todella (really) or tietysti (of course).
Before we look at these reactions in action, let's learn how to express dates and schedules for the teens.
Ordinal Numbers 11–20
To express that an event happens "on the 11th" or "on the 14th", Finnish uses the essive case (endings -na or -nä).
For numbers 11 through 19, the base number ends in -toista. When forming the ordinal essive, only the first part of the number inflects, while -toista remains exactly the same.
| Number | Meaning | Essive Ordinal (on the Xth) |
|---|
| yksi (1) | 11th | yhdentenätoista |
| kaksi (2) | 12th | kahdentenatoista |
| viisi (5) | 15th | viidentenätoista |
| kaksikymmentä (20) | 20th | kahdentenakymmenentenä |
(Notice that for the number 20, both halves of the word inflect fully!)
Let's see how mikä is used to comment on one of these schedule dates:
Expressing Reactions
When using mikä to comment on a preceding statement, it is usually followed by on (is) and a noun summarizing your reaction. Common nouns for this include harmi (a pity/shame), sääli (a pity), helpotus (a relief), and pettymys (a disappointment).
"Kaikki mikä" and Facts of Life
In addition to referring to entire clauses, mikä is also the required relative pronoun to use after indefinite pronouns like kaikki (everything). When you want to say "everything that...", you must say kaikki, mikä...
Let's observe this rule alongside some stronger reaction words you can use to comment on situations: ihme (miracle), ilo (joy), onni (luck), and tosiasia (fact).
