Breakdown of Paketti saapuu kuudentenatoista, mikä on todellinen ihme.
olla
to be
paketti
the package
todellinen
real
saapua
to arrive
kuudestoista
sixteenth
mikä
which (relative pronoun)
ihme
miracle
Questions & Answers about Paketti saapuu kuudentenatoista, mikä on todellinen ihme.
How do you express 'on a specific date' like 'on the 16th' in Finnish?
To say that something happens on a certain date or day, Finnish uses the essive case. You form this by adding a -na or -nä ending to the ordinal number (the words for first, second, third, etc.).
Why does kuudestoista (sixteenth) become kuudentenatoista in the essive case?
Finnish numbers from 11 to 19 end in -toista (meaning 'of the second ten'). When you put these 'teen' numbers into a different case, only the first part of the word changes. The ordinal word kuudes (sixth) turns into kuudentena in the essive case, and the -toista is just added to the end without changing.
Why does this sentence use mikä for 'which' instead of joka?
You use joka when referring back to a specific noun (like if you were just talking about the package). But here, 'which' refers to the entire situation described in the first half of the sentence (the fact that the package is arriving on the 16th). Whenever a relative pronoun refers to a whole previous clause or idea, you must use mikä.
Is todellinen in a special grammatical case here?
No, todellinen is in its basic dictionary form (nominative). It is an adjective meaning 'real' or 'true'. It stays in this basic form because it is describing the noun ihme (miracle), which is also in the basic nominative form after the verb on (is).
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