Breakdown of Johtajat edellyttävät sitä, että uhkavaatimus vedettäisiin takaisin.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
että
that (conjunction)
johtaja
the director
takaisin
back (direction, returning)
vetää
to pull
edellyttää
to require
uhkavaatimus
the ultimatum
Questions & Answers about Johtajat edellyttävät sitä, että uhkavaatimus vedettäisiin takaisin.
Why is vedettäisiin in the conditional mood rather than the regular present tense?
This ties right into the current lesson! The main verb edellyttää (to require or demand) forces the subordinate että clause to use the conditional mood (-isi-). Finnish uses the conditional after verbs of demanding, proposing, or wishing, much like how English uses the subjunctive mood ("require that it be withdrawn").
What is the purpose of the word sitä right before the comma?
The verb edellyttää requires its object to be in the partitive case. Because an että clause is an entire phrase and cannot take a case ending itself, Finnish uses the pronoun se in the partitive (sitä) as a placeholder to satisfy the main verb's rule. Literally, it translates to: "The managers require it, that..."
How is the word vedettäisiin built, and why is it passive?
It is a passive conditional verb. It is passive because the sentence doesn't specify who is supposed to withdraw the ultimatum, just that it needs to happen. To build it, you take the passive stem of vetää (vedettä-), add the conditional marker -isi-, and finally attach the passive personal ending -in.
Does the phrase vetää takaisin always mean "to withdraw"?
Yes, in both a literal and figurative sense. vetää means "to pull" and takaisin means "back". While you can use it literally (like pulling your hand back), it is also the standard way to express retracting a statement, a threat, or an ultimatum (uhkavaatimus).
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