Breakdown of Sekä maksu että jäsenyys ovat kalliita.
olla
to be
kallis
expensive
että
that (conjunction)
jäsenyys
the membership
Questions & Answers about Sekä maksu että jäsenyys ovat kalliita.
How does the sekä ... että structure work here?
It translates to 'both ... and'. In this sentence, it connects the two subjects, maksu (fee) and jäsenyys (membership). You put sekä before the first item and että before the second.
Why is the verb ovat (are) in the plural?
Because sekä ... että combines two singular things (the fee and the membership) into a plural subject. Whenever you connect subjects like this, the verb must match the plural subject and take the plural form ovat.
Why is the adjective kalliita (expensive) in the plural partitive form?
When a sentence has a plural subject and uses the verb olla (to be) to describe it, the describing adjective usually goes in the plural partitive. The basic form is kallis, and its plural partitive form is kalliita.
How is the word jäsenyys (membership) formed?
It is built from the noun jäsen (member). Adding the ending -uus or -yys is a common way to turn a noun or adjective into an abstract concept, very similar to adding '-ship' or '-ness' in English.