Breakdown of Tämä on perinteinen, kivestä rakennettu talo.
tämä
this
olla
to be
talo
house
rakentaa
to build
Questions & Answers about Tämä on perinteinen, kivestä rakennettu talo.
Why is the word order kivestä rakennettu talo instead of putting the material after the noun like in English?
In Finnish, participles like rakennettu (built) act like adjectives before a noun. Any additional information attached to that participle, such as the material kivestä (out of stone), must be placed directly before the participle. You can think of it as saying 'an out-of-stone built house'.
Why does kivi (stone) take the elative -stä ending here?
The elative case is frequently used to express what material something is made from. Just like you might say an object is made out of wood (puusta), here the house is built out of stone (kivestä).
What type of word is rakennettu?
It is the passive past participle (sometimes called the TU-participle) of the verb rakentaa (to build). It is used here to describe the house, essentially meaning 'built' or 'that has been built'.
Would the phrase kivestä rakennettu change if the case of talo changes in a different sentence?
Yes, but only the participle changes. Because rakennettu acts as an adjective modifying talo, it must agree with the noun's case. For example, if you wanted to say 'in a house built out of stone', it would become kivestä rakennetussa talossa. The dependent adverbial kivestä stays exactly the same, but the participle takes the inessive ending to match the noun.