Breakdown of Hän uskoo epäonnistuvansa, koska hänellä ei ole itsekunnioitusta.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
koska
because
ei
no / not (negative verb)
uskoa
to believe
epäonnistua
to fail
itsekunnioitus
self-respect
Questions & Answers about Hän uskoo epäonnistuvansa, koska hänellä ei ole itsekunnioitusta.
Why is it epäonnistuvansa instead of hänen epäonnistuvan?
Because the subject of the main clause ('he believes') and the subordinate action ('he will fail') are the exact same person. In this participle construction, when the subjects match, you must leave out the genitive pronoun (hänen) and instead attach a possessive suffix (-nsa) directly to the participle.
How is the word epäonnistuvansa built step-by-step?
You start with the present active participle of the verb epäonnistua, which is epäonnistuva. Normally this construction puts the participle in the genitive case (epäonnistuvan). However, whenever you add a possessive suffix like -nsa, that genitive -n drops out. So you are left with epäonnistuva + -nsa.
If he believed that someone else was going to fail, how would the first half of the sentence change?
You would need to specify the other person in the genitive case and leave the participle in its basic genitive form. For example, 'He believes Anna will fail' becomes Hän uskoo Annan epäonnistuvan. The possessive suffix is only used when the subjects match.
Could the koska clause also be shortened into a participle construction?
No. The referative construction (partisiippirakenne) is specifically used to replace että (that) clauses that act as the object of verbs like 'believe', 'say', or 'see'. It cannot replace a koska (because) clause, so the second half of the sentence must stay as a standard clause.
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