Questions & Answers about Isännällä on iso maatila.
Why does the sentence use isännällä on instead of a verb for "to have"?
Finnish doesn't have a direct verb for "to have." Instead, it uses the adessive case ending (-lla or -llä) on the owner, followed by the verb on (is). Literally, this translates to "On the farmer is a big farm."
The dictionary form is isäntä. Why does the nt change to nn in isännällä?
This is consonant gradation. Adding the -llä ending closes the final syllable (näl-lä). When a syllable is closed by a consonant, a strong consonant combination like nt weakens to nn.
If isäntä weakens to isännällä here, what happens to it in the partitive plural?
In the partitive plural, isäntä becomes isäntiä. The partitive plural ending (-ä) creates an open syllable (ti-ä). Because the syllable is open, the word stays in the strong grade (nt). This is a great example of how the same word can be weak in the "have" structure but strong in the partitive plural!
Why are iso and maatila in the basic nominative case?
In "have" sentences (like minulla on...), the thing you own is usually in the basic nominative case as long as it is a complete, countable object. Since the farmer has one whole, specific farm, iso maatila stays in the nominative.
What is the literal translation of the compound word maatila?
It is made of two words: maa (land, earth, or country) and tila (space, room, or estate). Put together, a "land-estate" or "land-space" is a farm.
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