Breakdown of Virtaava joki on kaunis, kun aurinko paistaa.
olla
to be
kaunis
beautiful
aurinko
sun
paistaa
to shine
kun
when (conjunction)
joki
river
virrata
to flow
Questions & Answers about Virtaava joki on kaunis, kun aurinko paistaa.
How exactly do we form virtaava from the dictionary verb?
The base verb is virrata (to flow), which is a type 4 verb. To form the active present participle, you take the strong vowel stem - the same one you use for the third-person singular virtaa (it flows) - and add the ending -va.
Since virtaava comes from a verb, does it change endings like a normal adjective?
Yes! When used to describe a noun like this, it acts exactly like an adjective. Here, both virtaava and joki are in the basic nominative case. If you wanted to say "in the flowing river", the participle would have to match the case of the noun, becoming virtaavassa joessa.
Could I just say "joki, joka virtaa" instead of virtaava joki?
Absolutely. Virtaava joki (the flowing river) and joki, joka virtaa (the river that flows) mean the exact same thing. Using the -va participle as an adjective just makes the sentence slightly more compact.
I always mix up kun and milloin. Why is it kun here?
Milloin is a question word used strictly for asking questions ("When does the sun shine?"). Kun is a conjunction used to connect clauses ("...when the sun shines"). Because this sentence is making a statement rather than asking a time-related question, you must use kun.
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