Breakdown of Tilasto näyttää, että neljäsosa opiskelijoista on työssä.
opiskelija
student
näyttää
to show
että
that (conjunction)
olla työssä
to be at work, to have a job
tilasto
statistic
neljäsosa
a quarter
Questions & Answers about Tilasto näyttää, että neljäsosa opiskelijoista on työssä.
How is the fraction neljäsosa formed?
It combines the ordinal number neljäs (fourth) with the word osa (part). This is the standard way to build fractions in Finnish. For example, kolmas (third) becomes kolmasosa (a third).
Why is it opiskelijoista (elative case) here instead of the partitive case?
When expressing a fraction or percentage out of a specific group, Finnish uses the elative plural (-ista/-istä). It translates literally to "a quarter out of the students".
Since we are talking about multiple students, why is the verb singular (on)?
The grammatical subject of the clause is actually the fraction itself, neljäsosa (a quarter). In Finnish, fractions take a singular verb, so we use on regardless of the plural group opiskelijoista that follows it.
Why is tilasto singular when the English translation says "statistics"?
Finnish frequently uses the singular tilasto to refer to a single body of data, a report, or a chart. English naturally defaults to the plural "statistics" for the same concept.
Could I use a verb for working instead of saying on työssä?
Yes, you could say työskentelee (works), but using the verb olla (to be) with työ in the inessive case (työssä, literally "in work") is a very common and natural way to express being employed or currently at work in Finnish.
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