Breakdown of Teen sukututkimusta ajanjaksosta, jolloin he asettuivat pohjoiseen.
he
they
tehdä
to do
pohjoinen
north
ajanjakso
the time period
jolloin
when / at which time (relative)
asettua
to settle
sukututkimus
genealogy / family research
Questions & Answers about Teen sukututkimusta ajanjaksosta, jolloin he asettuivat pohjoiseen.
Why do we use jolloin here instead of kun for "when"?
In English, we use "when" for both connecting two events and referring back to a time period. In Finnish, kun is used to connect events (like "when I was young"). However, here "when" refers back to a specific noun in the sentence (ajanjaksosta). Because it acts as a relative word meaning "during which time", you must use jolloin.
Why is ajanjakso (time period) in the elative case (ajanjaksosta)?
The elative case ending -sta is used here to mean "about". When you do research or a study about a topic, Finnish expresses this as doing research "out of" it. So, teen sukututkimusta ajanjaksosta literally means "I am doing family research about the period."
Why is it pohjoiseen (into the north) instead of pohjoisessa (in the north) if they settled in the north?
The verb asettua (to settle) is treated as a verb of motion or transformation in Finnish. While in English you settle "in" a location, in Finnish you settle "into" a place. Therefore, it requires the illative (into) case, making pohjoinen become pohjoiseen.
Why is sukututkimus (genealogy) in the partitive case (sukututkimusta)?
The verb tehdä (to do) takes a partitive object when the action is an ongoing, continuous process or involves an uncountable abstract concept. Since "doing genealogy" is an ongoing activity rather than a completed whole object, it requires the partitive ending -ta.
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