Word
Työntekijät vaativat, että palkankorotus olisi yhtä suuri kuin inflaatio.
Meaning
The employees demand that the pay raise be as big as inflation.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Työntekijät vaativat, että palkankorotus olisi yhtä suuri kuin inflaatio.
olla
to be
että
that (conjunction)
vaatia
to claim (demand)
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
Questions & Answers about Työntekijät vaativat, että palkankorotus olisi yhtä suuri kuin inflaatio.
Why is olisi in the conditional mood here instead of the regular present tense on?
The verb vaatia (to demand) is a strong verb of proposing. When it is followed by an että (that) clause, Finnish uses the conditional mood (olisi) to express what should or must happen. This is very similar to the formal subjunctive in English, like saying 'they demand that the raise be equal.'
How does the structure yhtä suuri kuin work to mean 'as big as'?
The word yhtä means 'equally' and kuin means 'as' or 'than' in comparisons. Together, the formula yhtä [adjective] kuin is the standard way to express 'as [adjective] as' in Finnish.
What are the parts that make up the compound word palkankorotus?
It combines palkan (the genitive form of palkka, meaning 'salary' or 'pay') and korotus (a raise or increase). Literally, it translates to 'the increase of the pay.'
Is the main verb vaativat in the present or past tense here?
Here it is translated as the present tense ('demand'), but it could actually be either! For verbs like vaatia, the third-person plural form in the present tense is identical to the past tense (imperfect). You have to rely on the wider context to know if they are demanding it right now or if they demanded it in the past.