Breakdown of He julistavat hänet yksimielisesti voittajaksi.
he
they
hänet
him / her
voittaja
winner
julistaa
to declare
yksimielisesti
unanimously
Questions & Answers about He julistavat hänet yksimielisesti voittajaksi.
Why is voittaja in the translative case (voittajaksi)?
This ties directly into this lesson's theme! The verb julistaa (to declare), just like verbs of appointing, electing, or naming (such as valita or nimittää), requires the translative case. The translative ending -ksi marks the new role, title, or state that the object is being transitioned into.
Why is the object hänet instead of the partitive häntä or the genitive hänen?
The action of declaring someone a winner is a completed, definitive action, so it requires a total object rather than a partitive one. For personal pronouns like hän, the total object (accusative) has a special form ending in -t (hänet), whereas regular nouns in the same position would take the genitive -n ending.
How do you break down the adverb yksimielisesti?
It is formed from the adjective yksimielinen (unanimous), which is a literal compound of yksi (one) and mieli (mind) plus the suffix -nen. To turn it into an adverb, the -nen ending changes to its stem form -se- before adding the standard adverb ending -sti (the equivalent of '-ly' in English).
Could we use the essive case (voittajana) here to mean 'as the winner' instead?
No, that would not work with this verb. The essive case (-na) describes a static, ongoing state (like being or working as something), whereas verbs of naming or declaring trigger the translative case (-ksi) because they cause a dynamic change into a brand new status or role.
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