Breakdown of Torilla on kymmenittäin ihmisiä.
olla
to be
tori
market square
ihminen
human
kymmenittäin
by the tens
Questions & Answers about Torilla on kymmenittäin ihmisiä.
How is the word kymmenittäin formed from the number ten?
It is built from kymmenen (ten). To add the distributive suffix -ittäin, you take the plural stem kymmeni- and attach the suffix. Here it translates to 'tens of' or 'by the tens'.
Why does ihmisiä need to be in the partitive plural?
Adverbs ending in -ittain or -ittäin that express a quantity act like numbers. Just as basic numbers require the partitive case, these words require the partitive plural when describing an uncountable or indefinite group, so ihminen becomes ihmisiä.
Since there are 'tens of people', why is the verb on in the singular instead of the plural ovat?
This is an existential sentence, which states that something exists somewhere. In Finnish, existential sentences starting with a location (like Torilla) always use the third-person singular verb on, regardless of how many things or people are there.
Why do we say torilla using the -lla ending instead of torissa?
The word tori means a market square, which is an open, outdoor public space. Finnish uses the external location ending -lla (on / at) for open areas and surfaces, rather than the internal ending -ssa (in / inside).
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