Breakdown of Tarkastaja seisoo laiturilla matkustajien leimatessa matkakortteja.
seisoa
to stand
matkustaja
passenger
laituri
platform
leimata
validate
Questions & Answers about Tarkastaja seisoo laiturilla matkustajien leimatessa matkakortteja.
How does matkustajien leimatessa mean 'when the passengers validate'?
This is the active temporal construction. It replaces a kun (when) clause. The subject of the action (matkustajat) is put into the genitive case (matkustajien), and the verb (leimata) takes the second infinitive inessive form (leimatessa). It is a compact way of saying 'while the passengers are validating'.
How is the verb form leimatessa created from the basic verb?
The basic verb is leimata (to stamp or validate). To form the second infinitive, you replace the final -a or -ä of the dictionary form with an -e-, which gives the stem leimate-. Then you just add the inessive ending -ssa to get leimatessa.
Why is the object matkakortteja in the partitive plural here?
The temporal construction usually describes an ongoing, simultaneous action. Because the passengers are in the middle of validating their cards while the inspector stands there, the action is continuous and incomplete. Therefore, the object takes the partitive plural form (matkakortteja).
Could I just use a normal kun (when) clause instead of this structure?
Yes! You could write the exact same idea as kun matkustajat leimaavat matkakortteja. The temporal construction means the same thing but is more compact. It is very common in formal texts and written Finnish, though you will encounter it in everyday speech too.