Word
Kukaan ei pelaa turnauksessa kahdentenakymmenentenä.
Meaning
No one plays in the tournament on the twentieth.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kukaan ei pelaa turnauksessa kahdentenakymmenentenä.
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
pelata
to play
kukaan
anyone, nobody (with negation)
kahdeskymmenes
twentieth
Questions & Answers about Kukaan ei pelaa turnauksessa kahdentenakymmenentenä.
How is kahdentenakymmenentenä formed, and why is it so long?
This means "on the twentieth". In Finnish, when you have a compound ordinal number like "twentieth" (kahdeskymmenes), both parts of the number take the ending. The ending here is the essive case (-na/-nä), used for days and dates. Kahdes becomes kahdentena, and kymmenes becomes kymmenentenä. Put them together, and you get kahdentenakymmenentenä.
Why do we use the essive case (-na/-nä) on the number here instead of a location case like -ssa/-ssä?
In Finnish, the essive case is used to express when something happens on a specific day, date, or point in a sequence. It translates to English as "on the". Just like you say maanantaina for "on Monday", you use kahdentenakymmenentenä for "on the twentieth".
Why does the main verb pelaa not have a personal ending like -vat?
Kukaan means "anyone", but when paired with the negative verb ei, it means "no one". It acts as a singular subject (like he/she/it), so we use the singular ei. In Finnish negative sentences, the main verb drops its personal ending, which is why we just use the stem pelaa.
What is the base word for turnauksessa, and why does the middle part change?