Breakdown of Hän palaa kolmantenakymmenentenä lokakuuta.
hän
he / she
palata
to return
lokakuu
October
kolmaskymmenes
thirtieth
Questions & Answers about Hän palaa kolmantenakymmenentenä lokakuuta.
Why is the word for "on the thirtieth" (kolmantenakymmenentenä) so long, and how is it built?
It is built from kolmas (third) and kymmenes (tenth). In Finnish, when a compound ordinal number is inflected, both parts must change. The essive ending is added to the stem of both words, turning kolmas into kolmantena and kymmenes into kymmenentenä. They are then joined together into one word.
Why do we add the -na/-nä (essive) ending to the number here?
The essive case is used to express "on what day" or "when" an event happens. Just as you use it for days of the week (like perjantaina for "on Friday"), you must attach it to the ordinal number to say "on the thirtieth" instead of just "the thirtieth".
Why is lokakuu (October) in the partitive case (lokakuuta)?
When stating a date, the month takes the partitive case because you are referring to a single day out of that entire month. It acts similarly to the word "of" in the English phrase "the thirtieth of October".
How do we know this means "he will return" if palaa is a present tense verb?
Finnish does not have a dedicated future tense. You use the present tense for both present and future actions. The context of the sentence, which gives a specific future date, makes it clear that he "will return".
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