Breakdown of Se on nimenomaan tämä seikka, joka aiheuttaa ongelmia.
tämä
this
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
ongelma
problem
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
aiheuttaa
to cause
nimenomaan
specifically
seikka
matter
Questions & Answers about Se on nimenomaan tämä seikka, joka aiheuttaa ongelmia.
Why do we use the structure Se on... joka... instead of just saying Tämä seikka aiheuttaa ongelmia?
Could we use mikä instead of joka to mean "that" in this sentence?
No. You must use joka here because it refers back to a specific noun phrase (tämä seikka). You would use mikä if the relative pronoun referred to an entire preceding clause, a superlative, or a pronoun like kaikki.
How does the word nimenomaan work with this grammar structure?
Nimenomaan means "specifically," "expressly," or "exactly." While the Se on... joka... structure already highlights the noun, adding nimenomaan strongly reinforces that focus, insisting that it is this exact matter and absolutely nothing else.
Why is the object ongelmia in the partitive case?
Ongelmia is a plural partitive. The verb aiheuttaa (to cause) takes a partitive object here because the problems represent an indefinite, unbounded quantity. The matter is causing some problems, rather than a specific, closed set of problems.
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