Breakdown of Moni valas on suuri, joten se tarvitsee paljon ruokaa.
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
ruoka
food
paljon
a lot
tarvita
to need
suuri
large, great
moni
many (a)
joten
so, therefore
valas
whale
Questions & Answers about Moni valas on suuri, joten se tarvitsee paljon ruokaa.
Why is it moni valas on (singular) instead of plural when the English translation says "Many whales are"?
In Finnish, the word moni (many) is very often used in the singular form, followed by a singular noun and a singular verb. While you can technically say monet valaat ovat, using the singular moni valas on sounds much more natural and idiomatic for general statements. Because the first half is singular, the pronoun in the second half is also singular: se (it) rather than ne (they).
We see the connector joten (so/therefore) here. Since B2 learners often mix them up, how does this differ from jotta?
Joten expresses a direct consequence or result of the previous statement ("the whale is large, therefore it needs food"). Jotta expresses intention or purpose ("so that" or "in order to"). If you used jotta here, it would bizarrely imply that the whale is large on purpose just so it can need a lot of food!
Could we use niin instead of joten here to mean "so"?
No, that would sound unnatural here. Niin translates to "so" when emphasizing an adjective, like niin suuri (so big), or as the "then" in a jos... niin (if... then) structure. When connecting two main clauses to mean "as a result" or "therefore", joten is the correct conjunction to use.
The verb tarvita (to need) usually takes a total object in the genitive or nominative case. Why is ruokaa in the partitive case?
It is because of the word paljon (a lot). Quantity words like paljon, vähän (a little), and numbers always force the noun that follows them into the partitive case. This quantity rule overrides the normal object rules for the verb tarvita.
Learn Moni valas on suuri, joten se tarvitsee paljon ruokaa and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free