Breakdown of Seremonian loppuessa presidentti antoi minulle kunniamerkin.
minä
I
antaa
to give
loppua
to end
presidentti
president
seremonia
ceremony
kunniamerkki
decoration of honour
Questions & Answers about Seremonian loppuessa presidentti antoi minulle kunniamerkin.
How would I change this sentence to say the president himself gave me the decoration?
Why is seremonia in the genitive form (seremonian) here?
It acts as the subject of the temporal construction loppuessa (which translates to 'when ending' or 'upon the ending of'). In this structure, known as the second infinitive, the noun performing the action must be placed in the genitive case.
Could I say Kun seremonia loppui instead of Seremonian loppuessa?
Yes, kun seremonia loppui is the exact equivalent using a standard subordinate clause. The -essa structure used here is simply a more compact, slightly more formal way to express that two events happen simultaneously or consecutively.
What parts make up the word kunniamerkin and why does it end in -n?
It is a compound of kunnia (honour) and merkki (mark, sign, or badge). It takes the -n ending here because it is a singular total object; the president gave a single, complete decoration to you, so the object takes the genitive-accusative form.
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