Breakdown of Mistä ostatte uuden sohvanne?
uusi
new
sohva
sofa
ostaa
to buy
mistä
where from / what (of/about)
Questions & Answers about Mistä ostatte uuden sohvanne?
Why does the adjective uuden end in -n, but the noun sohvanne seems to have no case ending before the suffix?
The phrase "your new sofa" is the total object of the action, so it takes the accusative case (which here looks exactly like the genitive -n). The adjective uusi correctly changes to uuden. However, a special rule for possessive suffixes is that the accusative -n disappears when a suffix like -nne is attached. The word sohvan drops its -n to become sohva before adding -nne. The adjective keeps its -n and reveals the hidden case of the noun!
Do I need to use the pronoun teidän (your) before uuden sohvanne?
You can, but it is not required. In standard Finnish, the possessive suffix -nne on the noun is enough to show who owns the sofa. You will often see the pronoun dropped completely, leaving just the suffix to do the work.
Does the suffix -nne mean this sofa belongs to a group of people, or just one person?
The suffix -nne matches the pronoun te (you, plural). Usually, this means you are talking to two or more people. However, Finnish also uses te and the -nne suffix to be polite and formal to a single person, so it could be addressed to just one person in a formal situation.
Why does the sentence use mistä (from where) instead of missä (where)?
This is a classic difference in how English and Finnish describe locations. In English, you buy things "at" or "in" a place. In Finnish, you buy things from a place, because the item is moving away from the shop to you. The verb ostaa (to buy) always requires the "from" case (the elative), which gives us mistä.
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