Breakdown of Mistä me löydämme sellaisen kattokruunun, jollaisessa on messinkiä?
olla
to be
me
we
mistä
where from / what (of/about)
löytää
to find
sellainen
such, that kind of
jollainen
the kind of which
kattokruunu
chandelier
messinki
brass
Questions & Answers about Mistä me löydämme sellaisen kattokruunun, jollaisessa on messinkiä?
Why is jollainen in the inessive case (jollaisessa)?
It translates to "in the kind of which". In Finnish, describing what a physical object contains or has on it often uses the inessive case (the -ssa ending) plus the verb on. So jollaisessa on messinkiä literally means "in such kind of which is brass".
How do sellaisen and jollaisessa work together here?
They form a correlative pair meaning "that kind of... the kind of which". Sellainen is in the main clause, acting as the object of löydämme (hence the genitive-accusative -n ending). Jollainen introduces the relative clause and refers back to the chandelier, taking its own case (-ssa) based on its role in that new clause.
Why is messinkiä in the partitive case?
Because messinki (brass) is an uncountable mass noun. The second half of the sentence is an existential clause (stating that something exists in a location). In these clauses, uncountable subjects take the partitive case to express an indefinite amount, like saying "some brass".
Why does the sentence start with mistä (where from) instead of missä (where)?
The verb löytää (to find) always demands a "from" case, like the elative (-sta / -stä). In Finnish logic, when you find something, it is discovered and conceptually taken out of its location. Therefore, you ask "from where will we find" it.
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