Breakdown of Ne ihmiset, jotka nauravat minulle, ovat ilkeitä.
olla
to be
minä
I
ne
they / those (non-human) / they (of people)
nauraa
to laugh
ihminen
human
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
ilkeä
mean
Questions & Answers about Ne ihmiset, jotka nauravat minulle, ovat ilkeitä.
Why is the relative pronoun jotka instead of just joka?
The relative pronoun must match the noun it points back to in number. Because it refers to ne ihmiset (those people), which is plural, you must use the plural form jotka.
Why does the sentence use minulle when English says 'laugh at me'?
In Finnish, the verb nauraa (to laugh) requires its target to be in the allative case (the -lle ending, which usually translates as 'to'). So, in Finnish, you literally laugh 'to' someone!
Why is the adjective ilkeitä in the partitive plural instead of the basic plural ilkeät?
When using the verb olla (to be) to describe a plural subject like ihmiset (people), the descriptive adjective must be in the partitive plural. If it were a singular subject, it would be the basic nominative form (Ihminen on ilkeä), but for plural subjects it becomes partitive plural: Ihmiset ovat ilkeitä.
Are the commas around the jotka clause necessary?
Yes, Finnish has very strict comma rules. You must always use commas to separate a relative clause (the extra information starting with joka or jotka) from the main sentence.
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