Breakdown of Onko teillä molemmilla heijastin ja turvaliivi?
olla
to be
ja
and
te
you (plural/formal)
molemmat
both (of them)
turvaliivi
the safety vest
heijastin
the reflector
Questions & Answers about Onko teillä molemmilla heijastin ja turvaliivi?
Why are both teillä and molemmilla in the adessive case?
In Finnish, when a quantifier like molemmat (both) or kaikki (all) modifies a personal pronoun, both words must agree in case. Since the 'have' structure requires the adessive case (teillä), the word for 'both' must also take the adessive, becoming molemmilla.
Why is the verb singular (onko) when there are multiple people and multiple items?
In Finnish possessive ('have') structures, the verb is always in the third-person singular (on), regardless of the number of possessors or the number of items being possessed. You are literally asking 'Is there at both of you...?'
Why are heijastin and turvaliivi in the nominative case instead of partitive or accusative?
In a Finnish possessive sentence, the things being possessed (heijastin, turvaliivi) act grammatically as the subjects of the sentence, not objects. Because they are singular, whole countable items, they take the basic nominative case.
Can I switch the order of the pronouns and say onko molemmilla teillä?
No, in these compound phrases, the personal pronoun typically must come first. You should say teillä molemmilla (both of you) or meillä kaikilla (all of us), keeping the personal pronoun as the head of the phrase.
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