Breakdown of Lämpötila kylmimmällä jäätiköllä on viisikymmentä astetta pakkasta.
olla
to be
viisikymmentä
fifty
kylmä
cold
pakkanen
the subzero temperature
lämpötila
the temperature
jäätikkö
the glacier
aste
the degree
Questions & Answers about Lämpötila kylmimmällä jäätiköllä on viisikymmentä astetta pakkasta.
How is the word kylmimmällä formed from the base adjective?
The base adjective is kylmä (cold). The superlative "coldest" is kylmin. To add the adessive ending -llä (on), we need its inflectional stem. For superlatives, this means using the -impa-/-impä- (strong) or -imma-/-immä- (weak) stem. Because the ending -llä closes the final syllable, consonant gradation triggers the weak stem -immä-, giving us kylmimmällä.
Why do we use the adessive ending -llä on jäätiköllä rather than the inessive -ssä ("in")?
In Finnish, wide open natural surfaces often take the adessive case (-lla/-llä, "on"). Just like you would say you are on the ice (jäällä) or on the sea (merellä), you are on a glacier (jäätiköllä). The adjective kylmimmällä must agree and takes the same case.
Why is the word for degrees, aste, in the partitive case (astetta)?
Whenever you use a number greater than one in the nominative case, the noun that directly follows it must be in the partitive singular. Here, the number viisikymmentä (fifty) forces the noun aste to become astetta.
How exactly does pakkasta translate to "below zero"?
The base word is pakkanen, which means "frost" or "freezing weather". Instead of saying "minus", Finns commonly express temperatures below zero by stating the number of degrees followed by pakkasta (the partitive of pakkanen). Literally, it translates to "fifty degrees of frost".
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