Breakdown of Tämä tietokone ei toimi, ja pomo sanoo sen selkeästi.
tämä
this
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
ja
and
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
sanoa
to say
tietokone
computer
pomo
boss
toimia
to function, to work / to act
selkeä
clear
Questions & Answers about Tämä tietokone ei toimi, ja pomo sanoo sen selkeästi.
How is the adverb selkeästi formed here?
It is built from the adjective selkeä (clear). To create an adverb that describes how an action is done, you attach the suffix -sti to the word's inflectional stem. Because selkeä ends in a vowel, its stem is exactly the same as its basic form, making it a simple addition: selkeä + -sti = selkeästi (clearly).
Why can't I use the basic adjective selkeä instead of selkeästi?
Because you are describing the verb sanoo (says). You are talking about how the boss speaks, not what the boss is like. If you used the adjective selkeä, it would grammatically describe a noun, making it sound like the boss themselves is physically clear or transparent!
Why does the sentence use toimi instead of työskentele for "work"?
In Finnish, there is a strict difference between doing a job and functioning properly. People "work" using the verb työskennellä. Machines, electronics, and plans "work" (meaning they function or operate) using the verb toimia. If you said tietokone ei työskentele, it would sound like your computer is a lazy employee refusing to do its shift.
Why is the word for "it" in the form sen instead of just se?
sen is the direct object of the verb sanoo (the thing being said). Because the boss is doing a complete, positive action (they are saying it), the object takes the genitive-like ending -n. The basic pronoun is se, and its genitive object form is sen.
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