Breakdown of Onko taiteilijalla varaa ostaa vanha kirjoituskone?
olla
to be
vanha
old
ostaa
to buy
vara
means / funds
Questions & Answers about Onko taiteilijalla varaa ostaa vanha kirjoituskone?
Why do we use varaa (partitive) here instead of just vara?
The phrase olla varaa means to have the means or to be able to afford something. It is treated as an abstract, uncountable possession, so vara (wealth/means) takes the partitive case (varaa). This is exactly like the structure olla aikaa (to have time).
Why is the verb ostaa in the 1st infinitive form?
Just like the habitual verb tavata taught in this lesson, the phrase olla varaa acts as a head phrase that requires the following verb to be in its basic dictionary form (the 1st infinitive). It simply tells us what action the artist has the means to do.
Why is the object vanha kirjoituskone in the nominative case instead of taking the typical genitive -n ending (vanhan kirjoituskoneen)?
This is a classic tricky rule for objects! When a sentence uses a possessive 'have' structure (someone + -lla + on), the object of any attached infinitive verb takes the nominative case rather than the genitive. Because the main clause is taiteilijalla on, the object of ostaa must remain the nominative vanha kirjoituskone.
Could we form this question by attaching -ko to varaa instead of the verb on?