Breakdown of Ottelu on neljäntenätoista, mutta minä olen väsynyt.
olla
to be
minä
I
väsynyt
tired
mutta
but
neljästoista
fourteenth
ottelu
match
Questions & Answers about Ottelu on neljäntenätoista, mutta minä olen väsynyt.
Why is the word for on the fourteenth so long in this sentence?
The word neljäntenätoista is the essive case form of the ordinal number neljästoista (fourteenth). In Finnish, to say that something happens on a certain date or day, you use the essive case, which usually adds the ending -nä or -na.
Why does only the middle of neljäntenätoista seem to have the -nä ending?
For numbers between 11 and 19, only the first part of the word changes case. The word for fourteenth is made of neljäs (fourth) and -toista (of the second). When you put it in the essive case, neljäs changes to neljäntenä, but the -toista part never changes.
Is väsynyt an adjective or a verb?
It is technically a verb form, specifically the past participle of the verb väsyä (to get tired). However, it is used here exactly like a regular adjective to mean tired. You will see many adjectives in Finnish that are built this way.
Could I drop the word minä in this sentence?
Yes, you could just say mutta olen väsynyt. Because the verb olen already means I am, the pronoun minä is optional. Keeping it in the sentence just puts a little more emphasis on the fact that you are the one who is tired.
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