Breakdown of Tällä viikolla on kahdet hautajaiset.
tämä
this
olla
to be
kaksi
two
viikko
week
hautajaiset
funeral
Questions & Answers about Tällä viikolla on kahdet hautajaiset.
Why do we use kahdet instead of kaksi here?
Hautajaiset (funeral) is a plural-only word in Finnish. When you count nouns that only exist in the plural, you have to use the plural forms of numbers, known as plural numerals. So, the singular kaksi becomes the plural kahdet.
Normally we use the partitive case after a number (like kaksi autoa). Why are both words in kahdet hautajaiset in the nominative case?
When you use a plural numeral with a plural-only word, the standard counting rules change. Instead of the number forcing the noun into the partitive singular, both the plural numeral (kahdet) and the noun (hautajaiset) take the nominative plural case (the basic plural form ending in -t).
Since kahdet hautajaiset is plural, why is the verb on in the singular?
This is an existential sentence, which states that something exists at a specific time or place (here, tällä viikolla). In Finnish existential sentences, the verb is always in the third-person singular (on), even if the subject being introduced is plural.
Why is 'this week' translated as tällä viikolla using the adessive case, rather than the inessive case (in this week)?
In Finnish, time expressions involving weeks (as well as days) conventionally use the adessive case (-lla/-llä). It is a set grammatical pattern: tällä viikolla (this week), ensi viikolla (next week), and viime viikolla (last week).
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