Breakdown of Kuulemme lennonjohdon vastaavan.
kuulla
to hear
vastata
to answer
lennonjohto
air traffic control
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Questions & Answers about Kuulemme lennonjohdon vastaavan.
How does the referative construction (partisiippirakenne) replace an että clause here?
This sentence means exactly the same as Kuulemme, että lennonjohto vastaa. The referative construction acts as a shortcut that removes the word että (that). To do this, the subject of the second clause (lennonjohto) is put into the genitive case (lennonjohdon), and the verb (vastaa) is turned into the present active participle with an -n ending (vastaavan).
How is the form vastaavan built from the dictionary form vastata (to answer)?
Vastata is a type 4 verb. To make the present active participle, you take the strong vowel stem (vastaa-) and add -va (or -vä). Because it is being used in the referative construction, it requires the -n ending, giving us vastaavan.
Could I translate this as "We hear the air traffic control answering"?
Yes! In fact, the English structure "hear [someone] doing [something]" is very similar to how the Finnish referative construction works. It feels much closer to the Finnish grammar than the literal translation using "that".
What are the parts of the compound word lennonjohto?
It is made of lennon (the genitive form of lento, meaning "flight") and johto (meaning "control", "lead", or "management"). Literally, it translates to "flight's control".