Breakdown of Tämä on kaupungin pääkatu, jolla on uusi myymälä.
tämä
this
olla
to be
uusi
new
kaupunki
city
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
pääkatu
main street
myymälä
shop (retail outlet)
Questions & Answers about Tämä on kaupungin pääkatu, jolla on uusi myymälä.
Why do we use jolla instead of jossa here?
Jolla is the adessive (outer local) case of the relative pronoun joka (which). It refers back to the street (pääkatu). In Finnish, you are usually 'on' a street rather than 'in' it, so we use the outer case ending -lla instead of the inner case ending -ssa.
How exactly does jolla on translate to 'which has'?
Finnish doesn't have a direct verb for 'to have'. Instead, it uses the adessive case (-lla / -llä) plus the verb on (is). Just like minulla on means 'I have' (literally 'on me is'), jolla on means 'which has' (literally 'on which is').
Why is the word for city spelled kaupungin instead of kaupunkin?
The basic word for city is kaupunki. When we add the genitive ending -n to say 'the city's', the syllable becomes closed. This triggers a rule called consonant gradation, which changes the strong nk into the weak ng.
What does the pää part of pääkatu mean?
Pää literally means 'head', but in compound words it often translates to 'main' or 'chief'. So pääkatu is the 'main street', just like pääkaupunki is the 'capital city' (main city).
Why is there a comma before jolla?
In Finnish grammar, you must always put a comma before a relative clause. Any time you start a phrase with joka or its forms (like jolla, jossa, jota), a comma is required.
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