Breakdown of Opiskelija lukee kirjaa vain kaksi tuntia.
kirja
book
opiskelija
student
lukea
to read
kaksi
two
Questions & Answers about Opiskelija lukee kirjaa vain kaksi tuntia.
Why is "hours" translated as tuntia instead of a plural form?
Does the number kaksi change its form to match tuntia?
No, in this sentence kaksi stays in its basic form. When a number is used to count something, the number itself stays in its dictionary form, and it pushes the noun after it into the partitive singular.
Why is the word for book (kirjaa) also in the partitive form?
The verb lukea (to read) usually takes a partitive object when the action is ongoing. Because the student is reading for a set time and we do not know if they finish the entire book, we use the partitive kirjaa instead of the basic form kirja.
Can I move vain to a different part of the sentence?
You should keep vain (only) directly in front of the word or phrase it modifies. By putting it right before kaksi tuntia, it clearly means "only two hours". If you moved it before the verb, it would mean the student "only reads" (and does not do other things like write).