Breakdown of Tiedämme opettajan hyväksyneen esseen.
opettaja
teacher
tietää
to know
hyväksyä
to accept
essee
essay
Questions & Answers about Tiedämme opettajan hyväksyneen esseen.
Why does the verb use the -neen ending to make hyväksyneen?
This is the past active participial construction, which replaces an että (that) clause. To show the action happened in the past, we take the past active participle hyväksynyt and change the ending to -neen.
Why is the teacher (opettaja) in the genitive case (opettajan)?
In this construction, the subject of the action (the one doing the approving) always takes the genitive case. It literally translates a bit like 'We know of the teacher's having approved...'
Is the object esseen in the genitive case for the same reason?
No, esseen follows the standard object rules. Because the teacher approved a single, whole essay, it takes the standard total object case (the genitive-looking accusative). The participial construction doesn't change how the object of that specific verb works.
How would this exact sentence look if I used että instead?
It would be Tiedämme, että opettaja on hyväksynyt esseen. The participial construction means the exact same thing but is shorter and very common in written Finnish.