Breakdown of Teini ansaitsee viikkorahaa tekemällä kotitöitä, sikäli kuin hän on ahkera.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
tehdä
to do
ahkera
hardworking
ansaita
to earn
sikäli kuin
insofar as
teini
the teen
viikkoraha
the weekly allowance
kotityö
the chore
Questions & Answers about Teini ansaitsee viikkorahaa tekemällä kotitöitä, sikäli kuin hän on ahkera.
How does sikäli kuin differ from a simple jos (if) in this sentence?
While both express a condition, sikäli kuin translates to "insofar as" or "provided that." It emphasizes the extent to which the condition is met. It tells us that the teen earning the allowance is strictly limited by the degree of their diligence, making it slightly more formal and restrictive than a plain jos.
Why does the sentence use tekemällä to say "by doing"?
tekemällä is the adessive case (-llä) of the third infinitive (often called the MA-infinitive). Adding the adessive ending to this infinitive form is the standard Finnish way to express the means or method of an action, translating perfectly to "by [verb]-ing" in English.
Why are both viikkorahaa and kotitöitä in the partitive case?
Both are objects representing undefined amounts. viikkorahaa (partitive singular) is treated as an uncountable mass noun here. kotitöitä (partitive plural) refers to an unspecified number of chores. If the teen had to do all the specific chores on a finite list to get paid, you would use the accusative plural kotityöt.
Does the verb ansaita only mean "to earn" in a financial sense?
No, ansaita is very versatile. While it means "to earn" money (like the allowance here), it is also the standard verb for "to deserve" something abstract, such as respect, praise, or a rest. For example, Sinä ansaitset loman means "You deserve a vacation."
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