Breakdown of Ne taitaa nimetä kaks meiän kollegoista.
me
we
he
they
kaksi
two
taitaa
to seem to, probably (does)
nimetä
to nominate
kollega
the colleague
Questions & Answers about Ne taitaa nimetä kaks meiän kollegoista.
Why is kollegoista in the elative case ('out of') here?
This sentence uses the subset structure. To express 'two of our colleagues', Finnish uses the number kaks (two) followed by the group in the elative plural case: kollegoista (out of the colleagues).
Why is the verb taitaa in the singular form when the subject Ne (they) is plural?
In spoken Finnish, it is extremely common to use the third-person singular verb form with the plural pronoun ne. In formal written Finnish, this would be he taitavat.
Are ne, meiän, and kaks standard written Finnish words?
No, they are very common spoken language forms! In standard written Finnish, this sentence would use he (they, for people), meidän (our), and kaksi (two).
How does the word taitaa translate to 'will probably'?
The verb taitaa expresses probability or guessing, meaning 'to probably do' or 'to seem to'. It acts as a helping verb and is followed directly by the basic infinitive of the main action, which is nimetä (to nominate) here.
Why is meiän (our) sandwiched between kaks and kollegoista?
Possessive words like meiän typically sit right in front of the noun they describe. The phrase meiän kollegoista (out of our colleagues) acts as a single block of meaning, with the number kaks placed before it to show how many.
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