Breakdown of Lahje on kymmenen senttiä leveä.
olla
to be
kymmenen
ten
sentti
cent
leveä
wide
lahje
the trouser leg
Questions & Answers about Lahje on kymmenen senttiä leveä.
What is the exact word order for expressing dimensions like this?
The standard formula for physical dimensions is: Subject + verb (on) + Number in nominative + Unit of measurement in partitive + Adjective of dimension (leveä, pitkä, korkea, etc.) in nominative.
Why is leveä in the nominative form instead of the partitive, since it comes right after senttiä?
The adjective leveä describes the subject of the sentence, lahje (the trouser leg), which is in the nominative. The measurement phrase kymmenen senttiä just tells us how wide it is, but it does not change the case of the adjective at the end of the sentence.
As a quick refresher, why is kymmenen in the nominative but senttiä in the partitive?
In Finnish, any base number greater than one requires the thing being counted to be in the partitive singular. So, the nominative number kymmenen (ten) forces the word sentti (centimeter) into its partitive form, senttiä.
Does lahje mean a human leg too?
No. Jalka is the word for a biological leg or foot, or the leg of a piece of furniture. Lahje is exclusively used for the leg of a garment, like pants or trousers.
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