Breakdown of Onko avaruudessa kaukaisia planeettoja?
olla
to be
planeetta
planet
kaukainen
distant
avaruus
space (outer space)
Questions & Answers about Onko avaruudessa kaukaisia planeettoja?
Why is the verb Onko in the singular when we are asking about plural planets?
This is an existential sentence (a "there is/are" sentence). In Finnish, existential sentences always use the third-person singular verb (on), even when the subject (planeettoja) is plural. We just add the question particle -ko to make it Onko.
Why are kaukaisia planeettoja in the partitive plural instead of the genitive plural we are currently learning?
In existential sentences ("There are..."), the plural things that exist take the partitive plural case to show an unknown or indefinite amount (some distant planets). The genitive plural is used for possession (like "the planets' rings"), not for simply stating that they exist.
How do we get the form kaukaisia from the basic word for distant?
The base word is kaukainen. For adjectives ending in -nen, the stem changes to -se- before adding endings. To form the partitive plural, we add the plural marker -i- and the partitive ending -a, resulting in kaukaisia.
What happens to the word planeetta to make it planeettoja?
The base word is planeetta (planet). To make the partitive plural, we add the plural marker -i- and the partitive ending -a. When the plural -i- attaches to a word ending in -a, that final -a changes to -o- so the vowels flow better, giving us planeettoja.
How does the word avaruus (space) change into avaruudessa?
The basic word is avaruus. For many words ending in -us, the stem changes to -ude- when adding case endings. Then we add the "in" ending -ssa (inessive case) to get avaruudessa (in space).
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