Breakdown of Lentäjä ilmoittaa lennon myöhästyvän.
myöhästyä
to be late
ilmoittaa
to inform
lento
flight
lentäjä
pilot
Questions & Answers about Lentäjä ilmoittaa lennon myöhästyvän.
Why does the sentence use myöhästyvän instead of an että (that) clause?
This sentence uses the referative construction (partisiippirakenne). It is a shorter, slightly more formal way to replace an että clause. Instead of saying Lentäjä ilmoittaa, että lento myöhästyy, you turn the sub-clause's verb into its present active participle (myöhästyvä) and add the -n suffix.
Why is the word for flight in the genitive form (lennon) instead of the nominative (lento)?
In the referative construction, the subject of the embedded action (the thing that is doing the action or being delayed) must be put into the genitive case. Since the flight is what is delayed, the nominative lento changes to the genitive lennon.
How exactly do we form the word myöhästyvän from its base verb?
The base verb is myöhästyä (to be delayed or late). To form the present active participle, take the inflectional stem (myöhästy-) and add -vä (or -va, depending on vowel harmony). This gives us myöhästyvä. Finally, we add the -n suffix required by this specific grammar structure, resulting in myöhästyvän.
Can I use this construction with any main verb, or only verbs like ilmoittaa?
The referative construction is only used with certain types of main verbs, usually those expressing sensing, thinking, or communicating. Verbs like ilmoittaa (to announce), sanoa (to say), nähdä (to see), and luulla (to suppose) are the ones that commonly trigger this structure instead of an että clause.
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