Breakdown of Ei ole kyse totuudesta.
olla
to be
ei
no / not (negative verb)
totuus
truth
kyse
matter, question (as in "it is about")
Questions & Answers about Ei ole kyse totuudesta.
Why is there no word for "it" in this sentence?
In English, we use a "dummy" subject like "it" in sentences like "It is raining" or "It is not a question of...". Finnish doesn't use dummy subjects, so the sentence simply starts with the negative verb Ei ole (Is not).
Why does "totuus" (truth) change to "totuudesta" here?
The phrase kyse on (it is a question of / it is about) requires the thing being discussed to be in the elative case (-sta/-stä). So, "about the truth" becomes totuudesta.
How does the stem of "totuus" change to "totuude-"?
Nouns ending in -uus or -yys (which often express abstract concepts like totuus for "truth") change their ending to -uude- or -yyde- before adding case endings like -sta.
How would I add an "että" (that) clause to this sentence, like "It is not a question of the fact that..."?
To connect an että clause to a phrase requiring the -sta ending, you need to use the pronoun se (it) in the matching case. You would say Ei ole kyse siitä, että... (It is not a question of it, that...). This is a very common way to introduce subordinate clauses in Finnish!
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