Breakdown of Jos väestö yhä vähentyy, neljännes kouluista suljetaan.
koulu
school
jos
if
sulkea
to close
yhä
still, yet (continuing)
väestö
population
vähentyä
to decrease
neljännes
quarter (fraction)
Questions & Answers about Jos väestö yhä vähentyy, neljännes kouluista suljetaan.
How is the word neljännes formed and what role does it play in this sentence?
Neljännes (a quarter) is formed by adding the fraction suffix -nnes to the stem of the number neljä (four). Here, it acts as the grammatical object of the passive verb suljetaan. Because passive verbs take their object in the nominative form (without the -n accusative ending), neljännes appears in its basic dictionary form.
Why is 'of the schools' translated using the elative case (kouluista) rather than the partitive?
When you talk about a fraction, percentage, or a specific amount extracted from a larger, defined group, Finnish uses the elative case (-sta/-stä). Neljännes kouluista literally means 'a quarter out of the schools'. Using the partitive plural here would not correctly convey taking a portion out of a specific whole.
Could I use the verb vähentää instead of vähentyy here?
No, because they belong to a classic transitive/intransitive verb pair. Vähentää is transitive and means 'to decrease something' (e.g., someone decreases the budget). Vähentyä, which is used here, is an automative verb meaning 'to decrease on its own' or 'to dwindle'. The population is decreasing on its own, so we need the -tyä ending.
Does the adverb yhä just mean 'still' in this conditional clause?
It translates to 'still', but when paired with verbs expressing change, such as vähentyä (to decrease) or kasvaa (to grow), yhä usually emphasizes a continuous, ongoing trend. Here, yhä vähentyy strongly implies that the population is 'continuing to decline' or 'declining further'.
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