Breakdown of Tiedustelupalvelun mukaan tämä on vain huhupuhetta.
tämä
this
olla
to be
vain
only
mukaan
according to
Questions & Answers about Tiedustelupalvelun mukaan tämä on vain huhupuhetta.
Why is tiedustelupalvelun in the genitive case before mukaan?
The word mukaan is a postposition meaning "according to" in this context. Like most Finnish postpositions, it strictly requires the noun preceding it to be in the genitive case (ending in -n). Therefore, "according to the intelligence service" becomes tiedustelupalvelun mukaan.
Could I just use the elative case (tiedustelupalvelusta) to say the information came "from" them?
You could, but the meaning shifts slightly. Tiedustelupalvelusta implies they are the direct, physical source of the information (like receiving a physical document from their office). Using the postposition mukaan ("according to") frames them as the abstract authoritative source of a claim, which pairs perfectly with the concept of "hearsay".
What are the root words that make up the compound tiedustelupalvelu?
It combines tiedustelu (intelligence, reconnaissance, or inquiry) and palvelu (service). The word tiedustelu is a noun formed from the verb tiedustella (to inquire or scout), which ultimately traces back to tieto (knowledge or information).
Why is huhupuhetta in the partitive case here instead of the nominative huhupuhe?