Question 1

How do we get kahdentenatoista from the number 12 (kaksitoista)?

Accepted Answer

This is the essive case of the ordinal number "12th". To say "on the [nth] day", Finnish uses the essive case. For numbers 11-19, only the first part of the number changes. The number kaksi (2) becomes the ordinal stem kahdes- (2nd). In the essive case, that -s- changes to -ntena, giving us kahdentena. The -toista part stays exactly the same, resulting in kahdentenatoista.

Question 2

Wait, doesn't the basic word for "twelfth" end in -stoista?

Accepted Answer

Yes! The basic nominative word for "12th" is kahdestoista. But when we need to say on the twelfth, the word must inflect. The ending -stoista effectively splits up: the -s part takes the essive ending to become -ntena, and the -toista ending just tags along unchanged at the very end. This pattern applies to all ordinal numbers from 11 to 19.

Question 3

Why use mikä here for "which" instead of joka?

Accepted Answer

Both joka and mikä are relative pronouns that can mean "which". You use joka when referring to a specific noun just mentioned (e.g., "the shop which is closed"). However, you must use mikä when "which" refers to an entire previous sentence or idea. Here, mikä refers to the whole situation of the shop being closed on the 12th.

Question 4

Why doesn't kiinni change forms to match kauppa?

Accepted Answer

Kiinni ("closed" or "shut") is an adverb here, not an adjective, so it is a fixed word that doesn't conjugate or change cases to match a noun. You just pair it directly with the verb olla (to be). Its opposite, auki (open), works exactly the same way.

Kauppa on kiinni kahdentenatoista, mikä on harmi.

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