Learn Finnish: Luokassa on kaksikymmentäkaksi opiskelijaa. - There are twenty-two students in the class.

Luokassa on kaksikymmentäkaksi opiskelijaa.

There are twenty-two students in the class.

Breakdown of Luokassa on kaksikymmentäkaksi opiskelijaa.

Questions & Answers about Luokassa on kaksikymmentäkaksi opiskelijaa.

Why does the sentence use on (is) instead of ovat (are) when there are twenty-two students?

This is a typical "there is / there are" sentence, which Finnish grammar calls an existential sentence. In these sentences, you usually start with the location (luokassa) and always use the singular verb on, no matter how many things or people are in that location!

The basic word for class is luokka. Why does it lose a "k" in luokassa?

This happens because of a very common Finnish spelling rule called consonant gradation. When you add an ending like -ssa (meaning "in"), the word changes to make it easier to say. The strong double consonant kk weakens into a single k.

How does the long number word kaksikymmentäkaksi break down?

Finnish numbers are written as one solid word and built very literally! It breaks down into kaksi (two) + kymmentä (tens) + kaksi (two). So, "twenty-two" is literally "two tens two".

Why is the word for students (opiskelija) written as opiskelijaa here?

It is in the partitive case. In Finnish, any number greater than one (like 22) requires the noun immediately after it to be in the partitive singular form. To make the partitive form of opiskelija, you simply add an extra -a to the end.