Word
Kirpputori, jota etsin, on keskustassa.
Meaning
The flea market that I am looking for is in the city center.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kirpputori, jota etsin, on keskustassa.
olla
to be
etsiä
to look for
keskusta
the city center
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Kirpputori, jota etsin, on keskustassa.
Why is the relative pronoun jota in the partitive case instead of just joka?
The relative pronoun takes its case from its role inside the relative clause. Here, it is the object of the verb etsiä (to look for). Because etsiä is a partitive verb, its object must be in the partitive case. The partitive form of joka is jota.
Why are there commas around jota etsin?
In Finnish, relative clauses must always be separated from the main clause by commas. The main sentence is Kirpputori on keskustassa (The flea market is in the center), and the relative clause jota etsin (which I am looking for) is inserted right after the word it refers to, requiring commas on both sides.
Does jota change if it refers to a plural word, like 'the flea markets that I am looking for'?
Yes! The relative pronoun has to match the number (singular or plural) of the word it refers to. If you were looking for multiple flea markets (kirpputorit), you would use the plural partitive form joita: Kirpputorit, joita etsin...
Why does the sentence use keskustassa here?
Keskustassa uses the inessive case ending -ssa to mean 'in' the city center, answering a 'where is it?' question. If you were talking about moving TO the center, you would use the illative case ending instead (keskustaan).