Breakdown of Koulu alkaa kahdentenakymmenentenä elokuuta.
koulu
school
alkaa
to start
elokuu
August
kahdeskymmenes
twentieth
Questions & Answers about Koulu alkaa kahdentenakymmenentenä elokuuta.
Why is the word for twentieth (kahdentenakymmenentenä) so long, and how is it formed?
In Finnish, when you change a compound number like 20 (kaksikymmentä) into an ordinal number (twentieth), both parts of the word must change. First, kaksi becomes kahdes and kymmenen becomes kymmenes. Then, to say on a specific date, both parts take the essive case ending: kahdentena + kymmenentenä.
What is the exact role of the essive endings (-na and -nä) in this sentence?
The essive case is used to express when an event happens. While English uses the preposition on for dates (on the twentieth), Finnish attaches the essive ending directly to the ordinal number to achieve the exact same meaning.
Why is the month elokuu written in the partitive case as elokuuta?
When expressing dates, the month must always be in the partitive case. Just like in English where you say the twentieth of August, the partitive ending -ta in elokuuta shows that the day is a part of that specific month.
If I wanted to write this date using digits instead of words, how would it look?
You would write 20. elokuuta. The period after the number 20 is essential because it acts as the ordinal marker, just like the th in 20th. When reading 20. elokuuta out loud, a Finnish speaker will automatically say the full word kahdentenakymmenentenä.
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