Breakdown of Tiedän rahtia varastoitavan satamassa.
tietää
to know
satama
harbor
rahti
freight
varastoida
to store
Questions & Answers about Tiedän rahtia varastoitavan satamassa.
How does varastoitavan replace the että (that) clause here?
This is the present passive referative construction. It replaces the phrase että rahtia varastoidaan (that freight is being stored). You take the present passive participle varastoitava and put it in the genitive case, giving us varastoitavan. The main verb Tiedän then attaches directly to this structure without needing a comma or conjunction.
Why is rahtia in the partitive case?
In the original clause (että rahtia varastoidaan), the freight is the object of the passive verb. Because freight is an uncountable mass noun and the action of storing is ongoing, it takes the partitive case. When you convert this into the referative construction, the object simply keeps its original case.
How do I build the form varastoitavan from the dictionary verb?
The dictionary form is varastoida (to store). First, form the passive: varastoidaan. Then, replace the -aan ending with -ava to make the present passive participle varastoitava. Finally, add the genitive -n ending which is strictly required by the referative construction, resulting in varastoitavan.
Is it okay to just say Tiedän, että rahtia varastoidaan satamassa?
Absolutely! The version using an että clause is much more common in everyday spoken Finnish. The referative construction used in this sentence means exactly the same thing but sounds much more formal and compact. It is extremely common in newspapers, books, and official texts, which is why it is important to recognize at this level.