Breakdown of Nämä ovat harvinaisia esineitä, joita en myy.
tämä
this
olla
to be
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
myydä
to sell
Questions & Answers about Nämä ovat harvinaisia esineitä, joita en myy.
Why is the relative pronoun joita in the partitive plural?
joita refers to the plural word esineitä (items), so it must be plural. It takes the partitive case because it acts as the object of en myy (I do not sell). In Finnish, the object of a negative sentence is always in the partitive.
Why is the phrase harvinaisia esineitä in the partitive plural here?
When describing what things are using the verb olla (to be), indefinite plural nouns are put in the partitive plural. This expresses 'rare items' generally. If you used the nominative plural harvinaiset esineet, it would specifically mean 'the rare items'.
Doesn't the word joka usually mean 'every'? How does it become joita here?
The word joka has two completely different uses. It can be an unchangeable word meaning 'every' (like in joka päivä). However, here it is the relative pronoun 'which' or 'that'. As a pronoun, it changes case and number to fit the sentence, becoming joita in the partitive plural.
Why does the sentence start with Nämä ovat instead of Ne ovat?
Nämä means 'these', referring to things that are physically close to the speaker. Ne means 'they' or 'those' for things further away. Since the speaker is likely showing or holding the items, Nämä ovat (These are) is the natural choice.