Breakdown of Sekä äiti että isoäiti halusivat kunnostaa tämän sukukalleuden.
tämä
this
haluta
to want
äiti
mother
että
that (conjunction)
isoäiti
grandmother
sekä
both
sukukalleus
family heirloom
kunnostaa
to restore (to repair, refurbish)
Questions & Answers about Sekä äiti että isoäiti halusivat kunnostaa tämän sukukalleuden.
Why is the verb halusivat in the plural here?
The subjects äiti and isoäiti are connected by the phrase sekä ... että (both ... and). When this construction links two or more subjects, they act together as a plural subject, so the verb must take the plural form halusivat instead of the singular halusi.
What case is tämän sukukalleuden in, and why?
It is in the genitive-accusative case (often just called the total object). The verb kunnostaa (to restore or repair) implies an action that is intended to be fully completed. Since the sentence has a distinct subject performing the action, the total object takes the -n ending.
How does the word sukukalleus break down, and how does its stem change?
It is a compound of suku (family or kin) and kalleus (valuable item or treasure). Words ending in -us or -ys that are derived from adjectives (like kallis becoming kalleus) change their stem to -uude- or -yyde- before adding case endings. That is why the object form is sukukalleuden.
Could I just use ja instead of sekä ... että in this sentence?
Yes, you could simply say Äiti ja isoäiti halusivat... (Mother and grandmother wanted...). However, using sekä ... että ... specifically emphasizes that both of them wanted to do it, just like using "Both A and B" in English.
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