Word
Hän ei tule kahdentenakymmenentenä, mikä on tosiasia.
Meaning
He is not coming on the 20th, which is a fact.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Hän ei tule kahdentenakymmenentenä, mikä on tosiasia.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
ei
no / not (negative verb)
tulla
to come
Questions & Answers about Hän ei tule kahdentenakymmenentenä, mikä on tosiasia.
How do we get the long word kahdentenakymmenentenä for "on the 20th"?
The number 20 is kaksikymmentä, and its ordinal form ("20th") is kahdeskymmenes. To say that something happens on a certain date, Finnish uses the essive case, which adds a -na or -nä ending. A tricky rule in Finnish is that every part of a compound number must change to match. Therefore, kahdes becomes kahdentena and kymmenes becomes kymmenentenä.
Why does the sentence use mikä for "which" instead of joka?
The relative pronoun joka is used when referring back to a specific noun. However, when "which" refers to an entire previous clause or idea, you must use mikä. Here, mikä refers to the whole situation ("he is not coming on the 20th") rather than just one specific word.
Could I just say kahdeskymmenes päivä to mean "on the 20th day"?
No, to express that an event happens "on" a date, you must use the essive case. If you leave the words in their basic form, it sounds grammatically incomplete. If you wanted to add the word "day" (päivä), you would have to put that in the essive case too, making the phrase kahdentenakymmenentenä päivänä.
What are the two parts of the word tosiasia?
It is a compound word made of tosi (true) and asia (thing, matter, or issue). Together they literally mean a "true thing", which is how Finnish expresses "a fact".