Word
Toinen kaksonen on ujo ja toinen on puhelias, vaikka he ovat samanlaiset.
Meaning
One twin is shy and the other is talkative, even though they are similar.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Toinen kaksonen on ujo ja toinen on puhelias, vaikka he ovat samanlaiset.
olla
to be
ja
and
he
they
toinen
other, another; second
Questions & Answers about Toinen kaksonen on ujo ja toinen on puhelias, vaikka he ovat samanlaiset.
Why does the sentence use toinen twice instead of a word for "one" like yksi?
In Finnish, the set phrase toinen ... toinen is used to say "one ... the other" when comparing two things or people. If you used yksi, it would sound like you are just counting. Using toinen both times sets up a natural comparison between the two halves of a pair.
In the first half, toinen is paired with kaksonen, but in the second half it stands alone. Is that normal?
Yes! In toinen kaksonen (one twin), it acts as an adjective modifying the noun. In the second half, toinen acts as a pronoun standing in for the second twin. You don't need to repeat the word kaksonen because the context is already clear.
Why does samanlaiset have a -t at the end?
Samanlaiset (similar) is the plural form of the adjective samanlainen. It takes the plural nominative -t ending because it describes the subject he (they), which is plural. Even though the first half of the sentence talked about the twins individually, he groups them together.
Could I use mutta instead of vaikka to connect these ideas?