Breakdown of Heidän on pukeuduttava asiallisesti toimistossa.
olla
to be
he
they
toimisto
office
pukeutua
to dress
asiallisesti
appropriately
Questions & Answers about Heidän on pukeuduttava asiallisesti toimistossa.
Why is the subject heidän in the genitive case and the verb on in the singular?
This is the standard Finnish structure for expressing obligation using a participle. In this construction, the person who has to do something is always in the genitive case (like heidän instead of the nominative he). The verb olla is always frozen in the third-person singular (on), no matter who or how many people the subject refers to. You cannot say he ovat pukeuduttava.
What verb form is pukeuduttava and how does it create the meaning of "must dress"?
Pukeuduttava is the passive present participle of the verb pukeutua (to dress oneself). When you combine a genitive subject, the verb on, and a participle ending in -tava or -ttava, it creates a strong obligation meaning "must do" or "has to be done". It works just like the täytyy structure but is slightly more formal.
Why does the dictionary form pukeutua change to pukeuduttava with a d instead of a t?
This happens because of consonant gradation. When forming this specific participle for this verb type, you use the weak stem. Adding the ending closes the syllable, causing the strong t in pukeutua to grade down to a weak d, giving us the stem pukeudu- before the -ttava ending is applied.
How is the adverb asiallisesti (appropriately) formed?
It is formed from the adjective asiallinen, which means appropriate, proper, or businesslike. To turn Finnish adjectives ending in -nen into adverbs (which is similar to adding "-ly" in English), you drop the -nen ending and replace it with -sesti, resulting in asiallisesti.
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