Questions & Answers about Onko näissä kauniissa patsaissa virhe?
Why do näissä, kauniissa, and patsaissa all have the -ssa or -ssä ending?
In Finnish, adjectives and demonstrative pronouns must match the case of the noun they describe. Because the noun is in the inessive plural (patsaissa, meaning "in statues"), the words for "these" (näissä) and "beautiful" (kauniissa) must also take the inessive plural endings.
How does the word tämä (this) become näissä (in these)?
The pronoun tämä has an irregular plural stem: näi-. To say "in these", you simply add the inessive ending -ssä to that plural stem, giving you näissä.
How do you form the inessive plural for an -is word like kaunis (kauniissa)?
Words ending in -is change the -is to -ii- to form their stem (kaunii-). The plural marker is usually an i, but since the stem already ends in a double ii, no extra i is needed. You just add the inessive ending -ssa directly to the stem, resulting in kauniissa.
What is the base form of patsaissa, and how do we build its plural stem?