Breakdown of Johtaja, jota haastattelin, oli keskinkertainen puhumisessa.
olla
to be
puhua
to speak
johtaja
the director
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
haastatella
to interview
keskinkertainen
mediocre
Questions & Answers about Johtaja, jota haastattelin, oli keskinkertainen puhumisessa.
Why do we use puhumisessa instead of a basic infinitive like puhua?
Adjectives describing skill or proficiency, like keskinkertainen (mediocre), hyvä (good), or huono (bad), require the inessive case (-ssa/-ssä). To put a verb into this case, you must first turn it into a noun using the 4th infinitive (-minen) and then add the case ending, resulting in puhumisessa (at the act of speaking).
Could we use the regular noun puhe here, saying puheessa instead of puhumisessa?
Not in this context. While puheessa is grammatically possible, it means 'in a speech' or 'during a speech' (referring to a specific event). When you want to express proficiency in the general action of speaking, you must use the 4th infinitive inessive form (puhumisessa) to capture the act of doing it.
Why is the relative pronoun jota in the partitive case?
The relative pronoun joka takes the case required by its specific role inside the relative clause. Here, it acts as the object of the verb haastattelin (I interviewed). Because haastatella is a partitive verb, its object must always be in the partitive case, which gives us jota.
How is the word keskinkertainen formed?
It is a compound of keski- (middle) and -kertainen (an adjective suffix meaning '-fold' or 'times'). Literally meaning 'middle-fold', it translates to 'average' or 'mediocre'. Much like 'mediocre' in English, it usually carries a slightly negative or underwhelming tone.
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