Breakdown of Heidän on tarkoitus myydä jyvät torilla.
olla
to be
he
they
tori
market square
myydä
to sell
tarkoitus
purpose, intention
jyvä
grain
Questions & Answers about Heidän on tarkoitus myydä jyvät torilla.
Why is the subject heidän in the genitive case instead of the nominative he?
This is the core rule of the on tarkoitus construction you are currently learning. The person holding the intention must be in the genitive case. You can remember this by translating it literally in your head as 'It is their intention to sell...'.
How would the meaning change if the sentence said Heidän on määrä myydä instead?
Using on tarkoitus expresses their own internal plan or intention. If the sentence used on määrä, it would shift the meaning to an external schedule or expectation, meaning 'they are scheduled to' or 'they are supposed to' sell the grains.
Why is the object jyvät in the plural nominative rather than the partitive plural jyviä?
This indicates a completed action involving a total quantity. They intend to sell all of the grains they brought. A total object in the plural always takes the nominative plural form (ending in -t). If they intended to sell only some of the grains, you would use the partitive jyviä.
Why is the market expressed with the adessive case torilla rather than the inessive torissa?
In Finnish, open outdoor spaces like a market square (tori), a yard (piha), or a street (katu) take the outer location cases like the adessive (-lla / -llä) rather than the inner cases (-ssa / -ssä).
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