Breakdown of Rokote oli niin tehokas, että sairaus katosi vuonna 1980.
olla
to be
vuosi
year
niin
so
että
that (conjunction)
tehokas
powerful / efficient
kadota
to disappear
sairaus
the illness
rokote
vaccine
Questions & Answers about Rokote oli niin tehokas, että sairaus katosi vuonna 1980.
Why isn't the number 1980 declined in the essive case to match vuonna?
When stating a calendar year with the word vuonna (in the year), the number itself strictly stays in the basic nominative case. You don't have to inflect the long number into the essive case, which makes speaking about historical years much simpler!
How do I read the year 1980 out loud in this exact sentence?
Because it stays in the nominative case, you read it as tuhatyhdeksänsataakahdeksankymmentä (thousand-nine-hundred-eighty). Remember that in Finnish, years are always read as full thousands and hundreds, never split into two-digit chunks like 'nineteen eighty' in English.
The verb is katosi (disappeared). Why does it have a 't' when its dictionary form is kadota?
Kadota is a Type 4 verb, which undergoes reverse consonant gradation. Its infinitive form uses the weak consonant grade (the 'd'), but its conjugated forms, including this past tense form, use the strong grade (the 't').
Is the structure niin ... että used exactly like 'so ... that' in English?
Yes, it works identically to link an extent to its result. Rokote oli niin tehokas (the vaccine was so effective) sets up the extent, and että sairaus katosi (that the disease disappeared) provides the result.
Learn Rokote oli niin tehokas, että sairaus katosi vuonna 1980 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