Breakdown of Perjantaina he pystyvät menemään museoon pyörätuolilla, koska siellä on ramppi.
olla
to be
he
they
siellä
there
koska
because
mennä
to go
museo
the museum
perjantai
Friday
pystyä
to be able to, to manage
pyörätuoli
wheelchair
ramppi
ramp
Questions & Answers about Perjantaina he pystyvät menemään museoon pyörätuolilla, koska siellä on ramppi.
Why is 'to go' translated as menemään instead of the basic dictionary form mennä?
This is because of the verb pystyä (to be able to). When you express what you are able to do using pystyä, the action that follows must be in the 3rd infinitive illative form, ending in -maan or -mään. You take the strong verb stem (mene-) and add -mään, resulting in menemään.
Why use the -lla ending for pyörätuolilla rather than a word meaning 'with', like kanssa?
The adessive case (-lla/-llä) is used to express the instrument, tool, or means of transport used to accomplish something. Just like you would say autolla (by car), you say pyörätuolilla (by/with a wheelchair). If you used kanssa (with), it would sound like they are going to the museum alongside a wheelchair as if it were a companion!
Could I just say koska on ramppi instead of koska siellä on ramppi?
It is much more natural to include the location. Finnish doesn't use a filler word like the English 'there' in 'there is a ramp'. Instead, sentences that state the existence of something usually start with a specific location. Here, siellä refers back to the museum, giving the clause the natural Finnish structure of '[Location] has [Thing]' or 'At [Location] is [Thing]'.
Why does the word for Friday (perjantai) end in -na here?
The -na/-nä ending is the essive case. Finnish uses this case with days of the week and dates to express when something happens. So, adding -na to perjantai is how you translate 'on Friday'.
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