Breakdown of Pojalla on kahdet uimahousut, mutta hän haluaa silti uudet.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
mutta
but
uusi
new
poika
boy
kaksi
two
haluta
to want
silti
anyway / nevertheless
uimahousut
swimming trunks
Questions & Answers about Pojalla on kahdet uimahousut, mutta hän haluaa silti uudet.
Why do we use the plural numeral kahdet instead of kaksi?
The word uimahousut (swimming trunks) is a pluralia tantum word, meaning it is grammatically plural even when referring to a single item. Because the noun is plural, the number attached to it must also take its plural form. Therefore, we use kahdet (two pairs) instead of kaksi.
With normal numbers, the noun is usually in the partitive case (like kaksi autoa). Why isn't it kahdet uimahousuja?
Plural numerals are an exception to the normal number rules. Instead of forcing the noun into the partitive singular case, a plural numeral simply agrees with its noun in both number and case. Because the possession structure (Pojalla on...) puts the possessed thing in the nominative case, both the number and noun are in the nominative plural: kahdet uimahousut.
Why is the adjective uudet (nominative plural) used at the end instead of the partitive plural uusia?
The word uudet acts as a pronoun here referring back to uimahousut. Even though it is grammatically plural, a pair of swimming trunks is a complete, countable item. When you want a whole, complete object, Finnish uses the accusative case. For plural nouns, the accusative looks exactly identical to the nominative plural (uudet).
Could I use vielä instead of silti to mean 'still' here?
While both can translate to 'still' in English, silti specifically means 'nevertheless' or 'despite that'. It perfectly highlights the contrast between him already having two pairs but wanting more anyway. Vielä is usually used for continuation in time (still doing something) or addition (still more).
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