Breakdown of Näissä liuoksissa on yhä reilut viisi millilitraa puhdasta vettä.
tämä
this
olla
to be
viisi
five
vesi
water
puhdas
clean
yhä
still, yet (continuing)
reilu
fair (just)
millilitra
the millilitre
liuos
the solution
Questions & Answers about Näissä liuoksissa on yhä reilut viisi millilitraa puhdasta vettä.
Why is reilut in the plural when the number viisi is singular?
This is a special rule for measurement approximations in Finnish. When using adjectives like reilu (a good amount) or vajaa (just under) before a number, the adjective is put in the plural nominative (reilut, vajaat), even though the numeral (viisi) stays in the singular nominative.
Why does the sentence use the singular verb on instead of the plural ovat?
This is an existential sentence expressing that something exists somewhere. The standard structure is Location + on + Subject. In these sentences, the verb is always in the third-person singular (on), regardless of whether the location (näissä liuoksissa) or the things existing (viisi millilitraa) are plural.
Could I use vielä instead of yhä here?
Yes, absolutely. Both mean still and are often interchangeable. Yhä is slightly more formal and often emphasizes that an ongoing state has remained completely unchanged, whereas vielä is the most common, everyday word you will hear in spoken Finnish.
What is the base form of liuoksissa and how is this form constructed?
The dictionary form is liuos (solution). It belongs to the group of words ending in -os or -ös. When adding a case ending, the final -s changes to -kse-, making the stem liuokse-. Since it is plural here, the plural -i- marker is added before the inessive ending -ssa, resulting in liuoksissa.
Why are puhdasta and vettä in the partitive case?
They are in the partitive because they express the substance being measured. The numeral viisi puts the unit millilitraa into the partitive, and that unit tells us the quantity of the mass noun vesi (water). Mass nouns following a measure word must be in the partitive, along with any adjectives modifying them.
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