Breakdown of Johtajan pitää pysyä itsevarmana, kun tilanne muuttuu vakavaksi.
kun
when (conjunction)
johtaja
the director
muuttua
to change
tilanne
situation
pysyä
to stay (remain in a state or position)
pitää
must / have to
itsevarma
confident
vakava
serious
Questions & Answers about Johtajan pitää pysyä itsevarmana, kun tilanne muuttuu vakavaksi.
Why does the word for "confident" end in -na (itsevarmana)?
This is the essive case, which describes an ongoing state or role. The verb pysyä (to stay / remain) requires the adjective describing that state to be in the essive case. Here, the manager's confidence is a state that needs to remain unchanged, so itsevarma becomes itsevarmana.
Why does vakava (serious) take the -ksi ending to become vakavaksi?
This is the translative case, which indicates a change of state (often translated as "turning into"). The verb muuttua (to change / become) always requires its complement to be in the translative case, because the situation is transitioning into a new, serious state.
Could I use tulee vakavaksi instead of muuttuu vakavaksi here?
Yes, you could say tilanne tulee vakavaksi. Both tulla and muuttua paired with the translative case can mean "to become". However, muuttua heavily emphasizes the actual transformation from one state to another, which contrasts perfectly in this sentence with pysyä (staying the same).
Why is the subject johtaja (manager) in the genitive form johtajan?
This is because of the verb pitää (to have to / must). In Finnish necessive sentences, the person or thing that "must" do something has to be in the genitive case, so johtaja becomes johtajan.
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