Breakdown of Sota jätti monia lapsia orvoiksi.
sota
war
lapsi
child
jättää
to leave (something behind)
moni
many (a)
orpo
the orphan
Questions & Answers about Sota jätti monia lapsia orvoiksi.
Why is orvoiksi in the translative case?
The verb jättää (to leave) requires the translative case (-ksi) when expressing a resulting state or condition. The war caused the children to become orphans, so they were left in that state. Whenever you 'leave' someone in a specific condition or role in Finnish, you use the translative.
Why is there an -i- before the -ksi in orvoiksi?
That -i- is the plural marker. Because the resulting state applies to a plural object (monia lapsia, many children), the resulting noun must also be in the plural. The singular form would be orvoksi, but for multiple orphans, it becomes orvoiksi.
What is the base form of orvoiksi, and why does it have a v?
The base noun is orpo (orphan). Adding the plural -i- and the translative -ksi closes the syllable, which triggers consonant gradation. The strong consonant p in orpo weakens to a v, giving us the stem orvoi- before the ending.
Why is the object monia lapsia in the partitive case rather than the accusative?
The partitive plural is used here because the sentence refers to an indefinite, unspecified amount of children ('many children'). If you were talking about a specific, entire group of children ('The war left the children orphans'), you would use the nominative-looking plural accusative: Sota jätti lapset orvoiksi.
Learn Sota jätti monia lapsia orvoiksi 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