Breakdown of Tuo maa on maailman toiseksi suurin kahvin tuottaja.
olla
to be
tuo
that
kahvi
coffee
maa
country
toinen
other, another; second
maailma
world
suuri
large, great
tuottaja
producer
Questions & Answers about Tuo maa on maailman toiseksi suurin kahvin tuottaja.
Why is the word for "second" (toinen) in the translative case (toiseksi) in this sentence?
This is the standard Finnish structure for ranking superlatives (like "second largest" or "third fastest"). You put the ordinal number into the translative case (-ksi), followed by the adjective in the superlative form (suurin). Therefore, "second largest" becomes toiseksi suurin.
Does the scope word maailman (the world's) have to come before the ranking?
Yes, in Finnish, the genitive word defining the scope of the superlative usually precedes the ranking phrase. The word order maps perfectly to English here: maailman (the world's) toiseksi (second) suurin (largest).
Why is coffee in the genitive case (kahvin) here, and could it be written as a compound word instead?
It is in the genitive to express "producer of coffee". It is actually very common to write this as a single compound word (kahvintuottaja). Both kahvin tuottaja (two words) and kahvintuottaja (one compound word) are grammatically correct and mean the same thing.
How does the word tuottaja relate to the verb for producing?
It is formed from the verb tuottaa (to produce). Adding the agent suffix -ja or -jä works just like adding "-er" in English, turning the action into the noun for the doer of that action.
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