Breakdown of Kumpi on kalliimpi, puhdasrotuinen vai sekarotuinen kissa?
olla
to be
kissa
cat
kallis
expensive
vai
or (in questions)
kumpi
which (of two)
puhdasrotuinen
purebred
sekarotuinen
mixed-breed
Questions & Answers about Kumpi on kalliimpi, puhdasrotuinen vai sekarotuinen kissa?
How exactly are the words puhdasrotuinen and sekarotuinen built?
They are compound property adjectives. puhdasrotuinen combines puhdas (pure) + rotu (breed) + the suffix -inen (having the quality of). sekarotuinen uses the prefix seka- (mixed) + rotu + -inen.
In this lesson's pattern, the first part of the compound is often in the genitive (like hyväntuulinen). Why does puhdasrotuinen use the basic nominative form puhdas?
While many of these adjectives take a genitive modifier, certain adjectives like puhdas usually stay in the nominative when forming established compounds. You will also see this in words like puhdassydäminen (pure-hearted). It simply became established in the language without the genitive.
Why do we use vai for "or" here instead of tai?
vai is specifically used in direct questions to present mutually exclusive alternatives, where the speaker expects you to choose one of the given options. Since this question asks you to pick between exactly two types of cats, vai is required.
Why does the sentence start with kumpi rather than mikä for "which"?
kumpi specifically means "which of two". Whenever you are comparing or choosing between exactly two options, as we are with these two cat types, you must use kumpi instead of the general question word mikä.
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