Breakdown of Jos olet sairas, sinun on ilmoitettava pomolle viipymättä.
olla
to be
sinä
you
sairas
sick
pomo
boss
jos
if
ilmoittaa
to inform
viipymättä
without delay
Questions & Answers about Jos olet sairas, sinun on ilmoitettava pomolle viipymättä.
Why use sinun on ilmoitettava instead of sinun täytyy ilmoittaa?
Both translate to "you must notify", but sinun on ilmoitettava uses the genitive subject + on + passive present participle structure. This form is often used in written Finnish, official instructions, and workplace rules to express a strong, formal necessity or obligation.
How is the form ilmoitettava built from the basic verb ilmoittaa?
It is the passive present participle. To build it, first find the present passive form of the verb, which is ilmoitetaan (it is notified). Drop the final -an to get the stem ilmoiteta-, then add -va. Notice that the double tt from the basic verb weakens to a single t because passive forms trigger consonant gradation.
Why is pomo (boss) in the -lle (allative) case here?
The verb ilmoittaa (to notify, to announce) dictates the case of its target. When you notify someone in Finnish, that person must be in the allative case (-lle), as if you are passing the information "onto" them.
What grammatical structure creates the word viipymättä (without delay)?
It is built from the verb viipyä (to linger or delay) using the -matta/-mättä ending. This ending is the third infinitive in the abessive case, and it means "without doing" the action of the verb. So, viipymättä literally translates to "without lingering".
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