Breakdown of Opiskelija istui opettajaa vastapäätä nilkat ristissä.
istua
to sit
opettaja
teacher
opiskelija
student
vastapäätä
opposite
risti
cross
nilkka
ankle
Questions & Answers about Opiskelija istui opettajaa vastapäätä nilkat ristissä.
Why is there no Finnish word for "with" in nilkat ristissä?
This is an absolute phrase of state, which is exactly what this lesson is about. To say "with [body part] [in a certain position]", Finnish simply puts the body part in the nominative case (nilkat) followed by a local case or adverb (ristissä). You never use words like kanssa (with) in this structure.
In the phrase nilkat ristissä, could I use the partitive nilkkoja instead?
No, in these absolute phrases of state, the noun is strictly in the nominative case (either singular or plural). Because both ankles are crossed, the nominative plural nilkat is used.
How does the word ristissä literally translate to mean "crossed"?
Ristissä is the inessive ("in" or "inside") case of the noun risti (cross). Finnish literally expresses this physical state as being "in a cross." You will see this same structure for other body parts, like kädet ristissä (hands folded) or jalat ristissä (legs crossed).
Why is opettajaa in the partitive case here? Don't most postpositions take the genitive?
You are right that most postpositions (like takana or vieressä) require the genitive case. However, vastapäätä (opposite) is a notable exception: it always requires the preceding noun to be in the partitive case, hence opettajaa.
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