Breakdown of Vanhemmat arvostavat vakautta, nuoriso taas haluaa joustavuutta.
haluta
to want
arvostaa
to appreciate
vanhemmat
parents
vakaus
the stability
nuoriso
the youth (young people)
taas
whereas / on the other hand (by contrast)
joustavuus
the flexibility
Questions & Answers about Vanhemmat arvostavat vakautta, nuoriso taas haluaa joustavuutta.
Why is taas placed right after nuoriso instead of at the beginning of the second clause?
When taas is used to mean "whereas" or "on the other hand" to contrast two things, it typically acts as an enclitic-like particle. This means it tucks itself immediately after the subject or main topic of the clause (here, nuoriso), rather than sitting at the very beginning like the English word "whereas".
Doesn't taas usually mean "again"?
Yes, its most basic meaning is "again". However, when placed after the subject in a coordinating clause like this, it functions as an adverbial connector meaning "whereas" or "by contrast". The context makes it clear: the youth aren't wanting flexibility again, but rather wanting it in contrast to the parents' desire for stability.
Why are both vakautta and joustavuutta in the partitive case here?
Both are abstract, uncountable nouns acting as the objects of their respective verbs (arvostavat and haluaa). Verbs expressing feelings, attitudes, or open-ended desires take a partitive object because the action is ongoing and applies to an undefined amount of that concept.
The word "youth" refers to multiple people, so why does nuoriso take the singular verb haluaa?
In Finnish, collective nouns—words that describe a group of people or things as a single unit, like nuoriso (the youth) or perhe (family)—are strictly treated as grammatically singular. Therefore, they take a third-person singular verb, even though they refer to many individuals.
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