Breakdown of Etsivä, joka tutkii tapausta, on väsynyt.
olla
to be
väsynyt
tired
tutkia
to explore / to investigate / examine
tapaus
case
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
etsivä
detective
Questions & Answers about Etsivä, joka tutkii tapausta, on väsynyt.
How would we use this lesson's topic, the pluperfect passive negative, to say 'The case had not been investigated'?
You would say Tapausta ei ollut tutkittu. The object stays in the partitive case (tapausta), followed by the negative pluperfect passive structure: ei ollut + the passive past participle tutkittu.
Is the word etsivä related to the verb etsiä (to search)?
Yes! Etsivä is the present active participle of etsiä, literally meaning 'searching' or 'one who searches'. In Finnish, it has become the standard noun for 'detective'.
Why is the word for 'case' in the partitive case (tapausta)?
The verb tutkia (to investigate or study) expresses an ongoing, continuous action. Because the action does not have a built-in endpoint, its object must be in the partitive case.
Could we use the relative pronoun mikä instead of joka here?
No. Because the pronoun refers directly to a specific preceding noun (etsivä), you must use joka. The pronoun mikä is generally used to refer back to a whole previous sentence, a superlative, or an abstract word like kaikki (everything).
Why does väsynyt look like a past tense verb if the sentence is in the present tense?
Väsynyt is the past active participle of the verb väsyä (to get tired). In Finnish, this participle form is very commonly used just as a regular adjective, so on väsynyt simply means 'is tired'.
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