Breakdown of Kauppa on kiinni kahdentenatoista, mikä on harmi.
olla
to be
kauppa
shop
kiinni
closed
kahdestoista
twelfth
Questions & Answers about Kauppa on kiinni kahdentenatoista, mikä on harmi.
How do we get kahdentenatoista from the number 12 (kaksitoista)?
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.
Wait, doesn't the basic word for "twelfth" end in -stoista?
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.
Why use mikä here for "which" instead of joka?
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.
Why doesn't kiinni change forms to match kauppa?