Breakdown of Sortumisvaara kasvaa sitä mukaa kun kallioperä heikentyy.
kasvaa
to grow
heikentyä
to weaken
sitä mukaa kun
as / in proportion as (at the same rate)
kallioperä
bedrock
sortumisvaara
risk of collapse
Questions & Answers about Sortumisvaara kasvaa sitä mukaa kun kallioperä heikentyy.
Why use sitä mukaa kun instead of just kun?
While kun just means "when" or "as", sitä mukaa kun specifically emphasizes proportional progression. It tells us that the two actions are happening gradually and at the exact same rate: the more the bedrock weakens, the more the risk grows.
Where does the first part of the compound word sortumisvaara come from?
It comes from the verb sortua (to collapse or cave in). You turn the verb into the noun sortuminen (collapsing), and then use its short genitive form (sortumis- in compounds) to attach it to vaara (danger or risk).
Heikentyy comes from the adjective heikko (weak). Why does it use the -ntyä ending here?
The -ntyä (or -ntua) suffix creates automative verbs that mean "to become [adjective] on its own". So heikentyä means "to get weaker". This contrasts with the transitive verb heikentää, which means "to weaken something else".
Could we change the word order and start the sentence with sitä mukaa kun?
Yes, just like in English, you can flip the clauses: Sitä mukaa kun kallioperä heikentyy, sortumisvaara kasvaa. Notice that when you do this, you need a comma to separate the subordinate clause from the main clause.
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