Breakdown of Pesuhuoneen kustannusarvio on puolta kalliimpi kuin luulimme.
olla
to be
kallis
expensive
puoli
half
luulla
to think, to suppose
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
pesuhuone
washroom
kustannusarvio
cost estimate
Questions & Answers about Pesuhuoneen kustannusarvio on puolta kalliimpi kuin luulimme.
The translation says fifty percent more expensive, but doesn't puolta mean half?
Yes, puoli means half. In Finnish, to say something is fifty percent more expensive than something else, you express it as being a half more using puolta plus a comparative adjective. So puolta kalliimpi literally means it costs the original amount plus half of that amount again.
Why is puoli in the partitive case (puolta) here?
When you state the exact amount by which things differ in a comparison, the word measuring that difference takes the partitive case. Just like you would say vuotta vanhempi (a year older), you use the partitive puolta before the comparative adjective kalliimpi to specify the exact difference in price.
Why use luulimme instead of ajattelimme for 'we thought'?
The verb luulla means to suppose, believe, or assume, and it is heavily used when an assumption turns out to be wrong. Since the estimate was higher than they expected, luulimme perfectly captures their mistaken assumption. The verb ajatella refers more to the active cognitive process of thinking or pondering.
How is the compound word kustannusarvio formed?
It is made of kustannus (cost, expense) and arvio (estimate, assessment). The word arvio is very common in planning and daily life, such as in hinta-arvio (price estimate) or aika-arvio (time estimate).
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