Breakdown of Hirvi juo vettä, kun se seisoo virtaavassa joessa.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
seisoa
to stand
juoda
to drink
vesi
water
kun
when (conjunction)
joki
river
virrata
to flow
hirvi
moose
Questions & Answers about Hirvi juo vettä, kun se seisoo virtaavassa joessa.
How is the word virtaavassa formed here?
It comes from the verb virrata (to flow). To make the active present participle, we take the strong verb stem (virtaa-) and add -va to get virtaava (flowing). Because it acts as an adjective describing joessa (in the river), it has to match its case, taking the inessive ending -ssa to become virtaavassa (in the flowing).
Could I say this without using the participle?
Yes! Participles are often used to replace relative clauses. You could just as easily say joessa, joka virtaa (in the river, which flows). The participle virtaavassa just neatly packs this meaning into a single adjective-like word.
Why is vettä in the partitive case?
Vesi (water) is a mass noun, meaning it is an uncountable substance. When an action involves consuming or acting upon an indefinite amount of a mass noun (some water, rather than all the water in existence), the object takes the partitive case (vettä).
Why does the word joki change so much to become joessa?
Two things happen to the basic word joki (river) here. First, it belongs to the group of older Finnish words ending in -i, where the -i changes to -e- before adding an ending. Second, adding the -ssa ending closes the final syllable, triggering consonant gradation where the strong k disappears. This turns joke- into joe-, giving us joessa.
Learn Hirvi juo vettä, kun se seisoo virtaavassa joessa and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free