Breakdown of Messut eivät ole auki kuudentenatoista.
olla
to be
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
auki
open
kuudestoista
sixteenth
messut
fair
Questions & Answers about Messut eivät ole auki kuudentenatoista.
Why is the verb plural (eivät ole) when the English translation says 'The fair is'?
In Finnish, the word for a fair or exhibition, messut, is always a plural word. Because the subject is plural, the negative verb must also be plural (eivät) alongside the base verb ole.
Does the word auki need a plural ending to match messut?
No, auki (open) is a fixed word describing a state, so it does not change its form. It stays exactly the same whether you are talking about one shop being open or multiple fairs.
How does the long word kuudentenatoista mean 'on the sixteenth'?
To say 'on' a certain date, Finnish uses an ordinal number (first, second, third) with the essive case ending -na or -nä. Sixteen is kuusitoista and its ordinal form is kuudestoista. To add the -na ending, only the first part changes to kuudentena, while -toista stays the same, giving us kuudentenatoista.
Is the -na ending on kuudentenatoista the same one used for days of the week?
Yes! This is the essive case, which is used to express when something happens. Just like you add it to a day of the week to say 'on Monday' (maanantaina), you add it to a date to say 'on the sixteenth'.
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