Breakdown of Keskustaan rakennettaisiin uusi kävelykatu.
uusi
new
keskusta
the city center
rakentaa
to build
kävelykatu
pedestrian street
Questions & Answers about Keskustaan rakennettaisiin uusi kävelykatu.
How do we form the passive conditional rakennettaisiin from the basic verb rakentaa?
Rakentaa is a type 1 verb. To form the passive conditional, you first find the present passive form. The consonant cluster nt changes to nn, giving us rakennetaan (is built). To make it conditional ("would be built"), you replace the final -an with the passive conditional ending -taisiin, resulting in rakennettaisiin.
Why is keskustaan in the illative ("into") case instead of the inessive ("in") case?
Verbs related to building, leaving, or establishing something (like rakentaa, jättää, or perustaa) usually require the illative case in Finnish. The logic is that you are building the street into the center, so the result of the action ends up there.
Why is uusi kävelykatu in the basic nominative form instead of an object case like the partitive or genitive?
In a passive sentence, a whole or "total" object (indicating an action that will be completely finished) takes the nominative case instead of the genitive-like accusative case. Because the street would be fully built, and the sentence is in the passive voice, uusi kävelykatu stays in its basic dictionary form.
Why does the sentence start with the location keskustaan rather than the thing being built?
Passive sentences in Finnish don't have a specific "doer" (like "I" or "they"). Without a subject to put at the start of the sentence, Finnish often places the location first to set the scene, followed by the verb, and then the object.