Breakdown of Nämä vialliset osat ovat laatikossa.
olla
to be
nämä
these
laatikko
box
viallinen
defective
osa
the part
Questions & Answers about Nämä vialliset osat ovat laatikossa.
Why do the words for "this" and "defective" change their forms here?
In Finnish, demonstratives and adjectives must agree with the noun they describe. Since osat (parts) is a plural noun, the word for "this" (tämä) becomes the plural nämä (these), and the adjective viallinen (defective) takes the plural form vialliset.
How exactly does the word viallinen become vialliset?
For Finnish words ending in -nen, you drop the -nen and replace it with -se- before adding most grammatical endings. Here, we need the basic plural marker -t, so the stem viallise- becomes vialliset.
The basic word for "box" is laatikko. Why is there only one "k" in laatikossa?
This is a classic example of consonant gradation. Adding the "in" ending -ssa creates a closed syllable at the end of the word (-kos-sa). This closed syllable forces the strong double consonant kk to weaken into a single k.
Since this lesson is about the passive voice, why isn't there a passive verb in this sentence?
This sentence is entirely in the active voice! The Finnish passive is used for actions done by an unspecified group of people (like "The parts are not being made"). Here, we have a specific, known subject (nämä vialliset osat) that simply "are" in a location, so we use the standard active plural verb ovat.
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