Breakdown of Ystäväni ajattelee lentoemännän olevan kohtelias.
olla
to be
ystävä
friend
ajatella
to think
kohtelias
polite
Questions & Answers about Ystäväni ajattelee lentoemännän olevan kohtelias.
Why is lentoemäntä in the genitive form lentoemännän here?
In the referative construction (partisiippirakenne), the subject of the embedded clause changes from the nominative to the genitive. Because of this, the flight attendant becomes lentoemännän.
What exactly is olevan doing in this sentence?
Olevan is the present active participle of olla (to be) with the genitive -n ending. It replaces both the word että (that) and the verb on (is). Literally, it translates to 'My friend thinks the flight attendant being polite.'
Why does kohtelias stay in the nominative case instead of taking a genitive -n like the subject?
In this construction, the adjective describing the subject (the predicative) keeps its normal case. For a singular noun, that remains the nominative. It does not copy the genitive case of lentoemännän.
How would I say this using a standard että clause?
You would say Ystäväni ajattelee, että lentoemäntä on kohtelias. The referative construction used here is simply a more compact and slightly more formal way to say the exact same thing.