Breakdown of Poikien on määrä viedä heinät latoon.
olla
to be
poika
boy
viedä
to take (away, somewhere) / to take (time), require
määrä
amount
heinä
hay
lato
barn
Questions & Answers about Poikien on määrä viedä heinät latoon.
Why is poikien in the genitive case instead of the nominative pojat?
This is required by the on määrä (is meant to / is scheduled to) structure. Just like with necessity verbs (such as täytyy), the logical subject of the sentence who is performing the action must take the genitive case. So, the nominative pojat becomes poikien.
How does on määrä differ from on tarkoitus, and can they be swapped in this sentence?
You can absolutely swap them here, and the grammar remains exactly the same (Poikien on tarkoitus...). The difference is just a slight nuance: on määrä implies an external schedule or expectation (they are scheduled or supposed to take the hay), whereas on tarkoitus leans slightly more toward intention (their intention is to take the hay).
Why is the word for hay in the plural form (heinät)?
While English treats hay as an uncountable singular noun, Finnish frequently uses the plural heinät when talking about a specific crop, yield, or physical batch of hay being gathered or moved.
What case is the object heinät in?
It is in the nominative plural. Total objects in the plural always take the nominative plural form. It is a good B2 refresher to remember that even if this were a singular object, it would still take the nominative singular because sentences with a genitive subject and an on structure (like on määrä or on pakko) drop the typical accusative -n ending from their objects.
Why do we use the illative case latoon instead of the inessive ladossa?
The verb viedä (to take away / to transport) is a directional verb in Finnish. Because the boys are moving the hay into a new location, you must use the illative case (latoon). If you used ladossa, it would imply the entire transportation action started and ended while already inside the barn.
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