Question 1

Why does the sentence say häntä neroksi instead of just using an että clause like luulin, että hän on nero?

Accepted Answer

While you can say luulin, että hän on nero, Finnish frequently uses this more compact structure with verbs of assumption. When using luulla (to assume/think), the person you are making an assumption about takes the partitive case (häntä), and what you assume them to be takes the translative case (neroksi).

Question 2

Since nero (genius) takes the translative ending (neroksi), why is huijari (swindler) just in its basic nominative form?

Accepted Answer

The translative case is strictly triggered by the special structure following luulin in the first clause. The second half of the sentence (että hän on huijari) is just a standard "A is B" clause. Because it simply uses the verb olla (to be) rather than an opinion verb, huijari stays in the basic nominative form.

Question 3

The lesson also covers pitää. Could I use pitää instead of luulla in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but the grammar and the nuance would change. Luulla specifically implies a guess or an assumption, which is often wrong—perfect for a sentence about being tricked. If you used pitää (to hold an opinion), the structure requires the essive case instead of the translative: Pidin häntä nerona (I considered him a genius).

Question 4

Why use luulla for "to think" here instead of ajatella?

Accepted Answer

Ajatella is used for the active process of thinking or pondering something. Luulla means "to think" in the sense of "to suppose" or "to mistakenly believe." Because the speaker held a false belief about the person's character, luulla is the natural choice.

Luulin häntä neroksi, mutta nyt tiedän, että hän on huijari.

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