Breakdown of Asiakas vaatii korvausta, sillä laite on rikki.
olla
to be
asiakas
the customer
laite
device / ride (amusement park attraction)
vaatia
to claim (demand)
rikki
broken
korvaus
compensation
sillä
for / because (coordinating)
Questions & Answers about Asiakas vaatii korvausta, sillä laite on rikki.
What is the difference between using sillä and koska in this sentence?
Both translate to "because", but they behave differently in sentence structure. Sillä is a coordinating conjunction (similar to "for" in English), and it can only appear in the middle of a sentence to link two independent statements. Koska is a subordinating conjunction, which means you could use it to flip the clause order and start the whole sentence with it. You can never start a sentence with sillä.
Do I always need a comma before sillä?
Yes. Because sillä connects two complete, independent clauses (Asiakas vaatii korvausta and laite on rikki), Finnish grammar rules require a comma right before it.
Why is korvaus in the partitive case (korvausta)?
The verb vaatia (to demand) often acts as a partitive verb. When you demand an abstract concept or an unspecified amount of something, like compensation, the object must be in the partitive case.
Does the word rikki change if multiple devices are broken?
No. The word rikki (broken) is an indeclinable word. It never takes plural markers or case endings, so it stays exactly the same no matter what or how many things are broken.
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