Breakdown of Vieras, jonka nimikortti puuttuu, istuu perimmäisessä nurkassa.
istua
to sit
puuttua
to be missing
vieras
guest
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
nurkka
the corner
nimikortti
place card
perimmäinen
in the very back
Questions & Answers about Vieras, jonka nimikortti puuttuu, istuu perimmäisessä nurkassa.
How is the adjective perimmäisessä formed, and what base word does it come from?
It comes from the noun perä, meaning the rear, back, or extreme end of a space. By adding the suffix -immäinen, which denotes an extreme position, we get perimmäinen (the rearmost or furthest back). Notice that the final -ä of perä drops before the -i of the suffix. In this sentence, it takes the inessive case (-ssä) to agree with nurkassa (in the corner).
Could I use taimmaisessa (furthest back) instead of perimmäisessä here?
You could, but perimmäinen sounds more natural for a corner. Taimmainen usually refers to the furthest back in a directional row or sequence, like the last row of seats in a theater. Perimmäinen emphasizes being deep inside a space or at its absolute furthest physical boundary, which fits perfectly with being tucked away in a corner (nurkka).
Why is the relative pronoun joka in the genitive form (jonka) here?
In this relative clause, the pronoun needs to express possession because it is the guest's name card that is missing. The genitive form jonka translates exactly to the English word "whose".
The verb puuttua means "is missing". If we wanted to add that the card is missing from the table, how would that affect the grammar?
The verb puuttua usually requires the elative case (-sta/-stä) to express the place something is missing from. So, "is missing from the table" would be puuttuu pöydästä. In our current sentence, the location isn't mentioned, so nimikortti simply acts as the standard subject.
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