Breakdown of Menneisyys, josta kerroin, oli vaikea.
olla
to be
vaikea
difficult / hard
kertoa
to tell
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
menneisyys
the past
Questions & Answers about Menneisyys, josta kerroin, oli vaikea.
Why is the relative pronoun josta in the elative case (ending in -sta)?
The verb kertoa (to tell) requires the thing you are talking about to be in the elative case (-sta/-stä). Since the speaker is telling about the past, the base relative pronoun joka takes the elative form josta.
How is the noun menneisyys (the past) formed?
It is derived from the verb mennä (to go). It builds on the past participle mennyt (gone/past) and adds the suffix -yys, which turns it into a noun describing a state or concept.
Could I use mistä (from mikä) instead of josta here?
No, you need a form of joka here. The pronoun joka is used because it refers back to a specific preceding noun (menneisyys). The pronoun mikä is used when referring to a whole previous clause, a superlative, or an indefinite pronoun.
Why are there commas around josta kerroin?
In Finnish, relative clauses (clauses that start with a relative pronoun like joka or mikä) must always be separated from the main sentence by commas. The punctuation rules for this are much stricter than in English!
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