Breakdown of Kansalaisuus perustuu siihen, että asut täällä.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
täällä
here
asua
to live
että
that (conjunction)
perustua
to be based on
kansalaisuus
citizenship
Questions & Answers about Kansalaisuus perustuu siihen, että asut täällä.
Why do we need the word siihen before että?
The verb perustua (to be based on) requires its target to be in the illative case. Because you cannot attach a case ending to an entire että clause, Finnish uses the pronoun se as a bridge. It puts se into the illative case (siihen) to satisfy the verb's requirement, and then follows it with the että clause.
The English translation says "you living here". Why does Finnish use the conjugated verb asut instead of an "-ing" equivalent?
English often uses gerunds (the -ing form) after prepositions, like "based on living". Finnish typically avoids this structure and instead uses an että (that) clause with a normal conjugated verb. A literal translation is "Citizenship is based on it, that you live here."
Why is there a comma between siihen and että?
In Finnish, subordinate clauses starting with että must always be separated from the main clause by a comma. The pronoun bridge siihen completes the main clause, so the comma goes immediately after it, right before the subordinate clause begins.
Could I use tässä instead of täällä for "here"?
In the context of citizenship and living in a country, täällä is much better. Täällä refers to a larger or less strictly defined area, like a town or a country. Tässä refers to a very specific, small spot right next to the speaker.
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