Breakdown of Heidän tulonsa laskenevat taantuman takia.
he
they
tulo
income
takia
because of
taantuma
recession (economic downturn)
laskea
to fall, to decrease
Questions & Answers about Heidän tulonsa laskenevat taantuman takia.
How is the potential mood formed in laskenevat?
It comes from the verb laskea (to fall or decrease). To form the potential mood, you take the strong vowel stem laske-, add the potential marker -ne-, and finally the third-person plural ending -vat. Because the stem ends in a vowel, there is no consonant assimilation here.
If the English translation says 'their incomes', where is the plural -t in tulonsa?
When you attach a possessive suffix (like -nsa) to a noun in the nominative plural (such as tulot), the plural -t drops out. This makes the singular and plural forms look identical: tulonsa can mean either 'their income' or 'their incomes'.
Since tulonsa looks identical in singular and plural, how do we know it is plural here?
The secret is in the verb! The verb laskenevat has the plural ending -vat. For the subject and verb to agree, the subject tulonsa must be acting as a plural noun in this sentence. If it meant 'their income' (singular), the verb would be the singular laskenee.
Why is taantuma (recession) in the genitive case (taantuman)?
It is required by the word takia (because of / due to). Takia is a postposition, and most Finnish postpositions require the noun that immediately precedes them to be in the genitive case.
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