Word
Onko sinun tarkoitus kysyä viljelijältä ohrasta?
Meaning
Do you intend to ask the farmer about the barley?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Onko sinun tarkoitus kysyä viljelijältä ohrasta?
olla
to be
sinä
you
kysyä
to ask
viljelijä
farmer
Questions & Answers about Onko sinun tarkoitus kysyä viljelijältä ohrasta?
Why is the subject sinun in the genitive case instead of the nominative sinä?
This sentence uses the genitive + on tarkoitus + infinitive structure to express a planned intention. The person whose intention it is must be in the genitive case (sinun). Literally, the structure translates roughly to 'is it of your intention to ask'.
Why are the cases viljelijältä and ohrasta used with the verb kysyä?
The verb kysyä (to ask) has strict case requirements. You ask from someone, so the person being asked takes the ablative case (-lta/-ltä). The topic you ask about takes the elative case (-sta/-stä). Therefore, you ask 'from the farmer' (viljelijältä) 'about the barley' (ohrasta).
How does Onko sinun tarkoitus... differ from simply asking Aiotko sinä...?
While both can translate to 'Do you intend to...', using the verb aikoa implies a personal, internal plan. The on tarkoitus structure often implies a more external, agreed-upon purpose or broader plan, sounding a bit like 'Is it the plan for you to...' or 'Are you meant to...'.
Could we use määrä instead of tarkoitus in this sentence?