Breakdown of Kuka vastaanottaa vieraat edustajan sijasta?
kuka
who
vieras
guest
sijasta
instead of (+ noun)
edustaja
representative
vastaanottaa
to receive
Questions & Answers about Kuka vastaanottaa vieraat edustajan sijasta?
Why is edustaja in the genitive form edustajan here?
The word sijasta is a postposition meaning instead of or in place of. Like most Finnish postpositions, it requires the word preceding it to be in the genitive case. So, instead of the representative is constructed as edustajan sijasta.
Is sijasta related to the noun sija? Could I use sijaan in this sentence?
Why is the object vieraat in the plural nominative form rather than the partitive plural vieraita?
This is a total object. The verb vastaanottaa (to receive) describes a completed or distinct action here, and we are talking about a specific, entire group of guests being received. For plural total objects, Finnish uses the nominative plural form. If the sentence meant receiving an unspecified amount of guests, you would use the partitive vieraita.
How does a compound verb like vastaanottaa conjugate? Do both parts change?
Only the second part, the base verb ottaa (to take), takes the conjugation endings. The first part, vastaan (towards/against), acts as an unchangeable prefix. For example, if you wanted to say I receive, it would simply be vastaanotan.
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