Breakdown of Luulen, että tämä väite on mahdollinen.
tämä
this
olla
to be
että
that (conjunction)
luulla
to think, to suppose
mahdollinen
possible
väite
claim, assertion
Questions & Answers about Luulen, että tämä väite on mahdollinen.
Since this lesson is about using luulla with the partitive and translative cases, why doesn't this sentence do that?
This sentence shows the other, simpler way to express the same thought: using an että (that) sub-clause. You could absolutely rewrite this using the lesson's target grammar as Luulen tätä väitettä mahdolliseksi. Finns use both interchangeably, though the että version is often easier for English speakers because it mimics English word order.
Does luulen mean 'I think' in the sense of having a firm opinion?
Not quite. Luulla means 'to think' in the sense of assuming, guessing, or believing. It implies you aren't completely certain. If you wanted to state a firm personal opinion, you would use minun mielestäni (in my opinion) instead.
The word väite (claim) ends in an 'e'. If I wanted to rewrite this sentence using the luulla + partitive + translative structure, how would I form the partitive?
Nouns ending in -e take the partitive ending -tta or -ttä. So, väite becomes väitettä. In the alternative structure, the adjective also changes to the translative case, making the full sentence Luulen tätä väitettä mahdolliseksi.
Why is mahdollinen in the basic nominative case here, rather than the partitive?
Inside the että clause, the phrase is just a standard 'A is B' sentence: tämä väite on mahdollinen. Because the subject (väite) is a singular, countable noun in the nominative case, the adjective describing it must agree and also be in the nominative case.
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