Breakdown of Lisenssi on sitova, kunhan allekirjoitamme sopimuksen.
olla
to be
allekirjoittaa
to sign
sopimus
contract
lisenssi
the license
Questions & Answers about Lisenssi on sitova, kunhan allekirjoitamme sopimuksen.
What is the difference between using kunhan and jos in this sentence?
While jos simply means "if", kunhan carries the meaning of "provided that", "as long as", or "only if". It adds a strict, almost exclusive condition to the main clause. It is formed by combining the conjunction kun (when) with the clitic -han, which often emphasizes an expectation or a strong condition.
What kind of word is sitova?
Sitova is the present active participle (often called the VA-participle) of the verb sitoa (to bind or tie). By adding -va to the strong stem, you create an adjective describing an action a noun is actively doing. Therefore, a license that "binds" is sitova (binding).
Why is the object sopimuksen in the genitive-looking accusative case instead of the partitive?
The verb allekirjoittaa (to sign) implies a complete, bounded action. You aren't signing an indefinite amount of the agreement; you are signing the whole document. Because the sentence describes a completed action in the affirmative, the total object takes the accusative case, which for singular nouns ends in -n (identical to the genitive).
How is the compound verb allekirjoitamme formed?
It is a combination of alle (under / to the space below) and kirjoittaa (to write). So allekirjoitamme literally means "we write under". This is exactly how the English concept of "undersigning" a document works.