Breakdown of Onko tämä asiakirja virallisesti ranskaksi?
tämä
this
olla
to be
asiakirja
document
ranska
French
virallisesti
officially
Questions & Answers about Onko tämä asiakirja virallisesti ranskaksi?
The translative case usually means changing into something. Why is it used here for ranskaksi (in French)?
While the translative case often shows a change of state, it is also the standard rule in Finnish for expressing the language in which something is communicated, written, or spoken. Therefore, when a document is written in French, you must use the -ksi ending.
Could I use the partitive case (ranskaa) or inessive case (ranskassa) instead to say in French?
No. You use the partitive ranskaa when talking about the language as a skill, like Puhun ranskaa (I speak French). The inessive Ranskassa literally means geographically in France. For a medium of communication like a document or a book, you must use the translative.
How is the word asiakirja (document) formed?
It is a compound word made of asia (matter, issue, or thing) and kirja (book). In administrative and legal contexts, this combination translates to a document or record.
Why use virallisesti here instead of just virallinen?
Virallisesti is an adverb meaning officially, formed by adding the -sti suffix to the adjective virallinen (official). If you used the adjective, the sentence would be Onko tämä virallinen asiakirja ranskaksi? meaning Is this official document in French?
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