Breakdown of Lentoemäntä kuuluttaa turbulenssin alkavan.
alkaa
to start
lentoemäntä
flight attendant
kuuluttaa
to announce
turbulenssi
turbulence
Questions & Answers about Lentoemäntä kuuluttaa turbulenssin alkavan.
How does this sentence say 'that the turbulence is beginning' without using the word 'että' (that)?
This sentence uses the present active referative construction to compress an että clause. The subject of the action (turbulenssi) is put into the genitive case (turbulenssin), and the verb (alkaa) takes the present active participle form with an -n at the end (alkavan).
How exactly is the word alkavan formed from the basic verb alkaa?
First, take the stem of the verb alkaa, which is alka-. Then add the present participle ending -va (meaning 'beginning'), and finally attach the -n ending that is required for this specific grammatical structure.
Is the verb kuuluttaa (to announce) related to kuulla (to hear)?
Yes! Kuuluttaa is a causative verb built from kuulla. It essentially means 'to make something heard.' It is the standard verb for making official announcements over a public address system, like on an airplane or at a train station.
Would it be wrong to just say Lentoemäntä kuuluttaa, että turbulenssi alkaa?
Not at all! The että version is perfectly correct and is actually more common in casual, everyday speech. The participle construction used here is a bit more formal and compact, which is why it often appears in news, literature, and official announcements like this one.