Questions & Answers about Seuraava asiakas on neljäs.
How does the number neljä (four) become neljäs (fourth)?
To form an ordinal number (like third, fourth, or fifth) in Finnish, you generally add -s to the vowel stem of the basic number. The stem for neljä is simply neljä-, so adding -s makes it neljäs. Remember that 'first' (ensimmäinen) and 'second' (toinen) are irregular exceptions!
Why is neljäs in the basic nominative case here instead of the partitive case?
In this sentence, neljäs is describing the subject (asiakas). Because a customer is a singular, countable noun, any adjective or number describing it with the verb on (is) stays in the basic nominative case. You would only use the partitive if the subject was an uncountable mass noun (like coffee or water).
Is the word seuraava (next) related to a verb?
Yes! It comes from the verb seurata, which means 'to follow.' The -va ending turns the verb into a describing word, so seuraava asiakas literally translates to 'the following customer.' This is exactly how Finnish expresses 'the next' in a sequence.
Asiakas (customer) ends in -s. How would this word change if we needed to add an ending to it?
Asiakas belongs to a common group of words ending in -kas or -käs. When you add case endings to these words, the -s drops away, the vowel doubles, and the consonants get stronger. For example, the stem becomes asiakkaa-, making the genitive form asiakkaan (the customer's). Since it is just the subject here, it stays in its basic dictionary form.
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