Word
Minulla on yhdet henkselit, mutta ostan kuitenkin toiset.
Meaning
I have one pair of suspenders, but I will buy another pair anyway.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Minulla on yhdet henkselit, mutta ostan kuitenkin toiset.
Why do we use yhdet instead of yksi here?
Because henkselit (suspenders) is a word that is always plural in Finnish, just like 'pants' or 'scissors' in English. To count matched pairs or naturally plural words, you must use plural numbers. So, 'one pair' becomes yhdet.
How does the word toiset mean 'another pair' here? Doesn't it usually mean 'the others'?
The singular word toinen can mean 'second', 'other', or 'another'. Because the sentence is discussing a plural-only noun (henkselit), any matching pronouns must also be in the plural. Here, toiset acts as a plural pronoun meaning 'a second pair' or 'another pair'.
Why is the object in the second clause (toiset) in the nominative plural form rather than the partitive plural (toisia)?
This is a great refresher on plural objects! Because you are buying a complete, entire pair of suspenders, it is a total object. For plural words, the total object takes the nominative plural form (ending in -t). You would only use the partitive plural toisia if you were buying an unspecified or incomplete amount of them.
Could you use yhdet with normal, singular-capable nouns too?