Word
Kumpikin kissa, joka asuu löytöeläintalossa, tarvitsee kodin.
Meaning
Both cats that live in the animal shelter need a home.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kumpikin kissa, joka asuu löytöeläintalossa, tarvitsee kodin.
kissa
cat
asua
to live
koti
the home
tarvita
to need
Questions & Answers about Kumpikin kissa, joka asuu löytöeläintalossa, tarvitsee kodin.
In English, the translation says "Both cats... need", which is plural. Why are kissa, asuu, and tarvitsee all singular in Finnish?
The pronoun kumpikin literally translates closer to "each of the two". Just like the word "each" in English, it grammatically requires a singular noun (kissa) and singular verbs (asuu, tarvitsee). So, the Finnish sentence is structured like "Each of the two cats that lives... needs...".
What is the difference between using kumpikin and molemmat, since they both mean "both"?
Molemmat is a true plural pronoun and takes plural nouns and verbs (e.g., Molemmat kissat... tarvitsevat). Kumpikin treats the two subjects individually (like "each of the two") and takes singular nouns and verbs (Kumpikin kissa... tarvitsee). The overall meaning is basically the same, but the grammar changes entirely.
Why does the relative clause use the singular joka instead of the plural jotka?
A relative pronoun always has to match the number (singular or plural) of the word it refers back to. Because kumpikin forces the noun kissa to be singular, the relative pronoun referring to it must also be the singular joka.
How does a long compound word like löytöeläintalossa break down?