Questions & Answers about Tutkijoiden kaukoputki on uusi.
How do we form the genitive plural tutkijoiden from the basic word tutkija?
First, we need the plural stem. For words ending in -a like tutkija, the -a changes to -o when we add the plural -i, giving us the stem tutkijoi-. Finally, we add the genitive plural ending -den, resulting in tutkijoiden.
Could I write tutkijoitten instead of tutkijoiden?
Yes! For words that take the -den ending, the ending -tten is also grammatically correct and means exactly the same thing. Tutkijoitten works perfectly, though tutkijoiden is slightly more common.
Why is uusi in the singular form if the sentence talks about multiple researchers?
The adjective uusi describes the telescope (kaukoputki), not the researchers. Since there is only one telescope (singular subject), uusi must also be in its basic singular form.
The word kaukoputki looks like a compound word. What are its parts?
It is made of kauko- (far, distant, or tele-) and putki (pipe or tube). So, a telescope in Finnish is literally a far-tube!