Breakdown of Onko itse kansleri tärkeämpi kuin valtion päämies?
olla
to be
tärkeä
important
itse
self, oneself
valtio
the state
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
kansleri
chancellor
päämies
head of state
Questions & Answers about Onko itse kansleri tärkeämpi kuin valtion päämies?
Why is itse placed before kansleri, and would it change its form if kansleri was in a different case?
In this sentence, itse acts as an intensifying appositive pronoun, meaning 'the chancellor himself' or 'the chancellor in person'. When used this way right before a noun, itse is uninflected. It stays as itse no matter what case the following noun is in (for example, if it were the object, you would say tapasin itse kanslerin).
How do we know itse here means 'himself' for emphasis, rather than doing an action to 'himself' (reflexive)?
The position and lack of a possessive suffix give it away. When placed directly before the noun without a suffix, itse is an intensifier. If it were a reflexive pronoun receiving an action (like 'the chancellor defended himself'), it would act as the object and take a possessive suffix, like itsensä.
Could we express the comparison without using the word kuin (than)?
Yes, you can use the partitive comparative structure. You drop the word kuin and put the thing being compared against into the partitive case. The sentence would become Onko itse kansleri tärkeämpi valtion päämiestä? Both structures are very common and mean the exact same thing.
What does the word päämies literally translate to, and is it only used for men?
It literally translates to 'head man' from pää (head) and mies (man). However, in modern Finnish it functions as a gender-neutral term for a chief, leader, or head of state, much like how 'chairman' has historically been used in English.
Learn Onko itse kansleri tärkeämpi kuin valtion päämies and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free