Breakdown of Kypsyys on paras asia, minkä koettelemus voi opettaa.
olla
to be
voida
can, to be able to
asia
thing, matter
mikä
which (relative pronoun)
paras
best
opettaa
to teach
koettelemus
ordeal
kypsyys
maturity
Questions & Answers about Kypsyys on paras asia, minkä koettelemus voi opettaa.
Why do we use minkä instead of jonka here, since it refers to a specific noun (asia)?
This is exactly what the current lesson covers! Usually, joka refers to the preceding noun and mikä refers to a whole clause. However, there is a major exception: when the noun is modified by a superlative adjective like paras, Finnish strongly prefers to use the relative pronoun mikä instead of joka.
Why is it minkä (with an -n ending) rather than just the nominative mikä?
The relative pronoun is acting as the direct object of the verb opettaa inside the relative clause (it is the thing being taught). Because the relative clause has a standard subject (koettelemus) and a personal verb (voi), the total object must take the genitive-like accusative case, which for mikä is minkä.
What is the root of the noun koettelemus?
It is derived from the verb koetella, which means to afflict, try, or put to a severe test (it is a frequentative form of koettaa, to try). The suffix -mus turns the verb into a noun representing the experience or result of that action, perfectly translating to an ordeal or hardship.
If I wanted to say 'that an ordeal can teach me', how would I add 'me' to the sentence?
You would add it in the allative case as minulle (to me). It would not change the case of minkä, because the relative pronoun remains the direct object. The end of the sentence would simply become minkä koettelemus voi opettaa minulle.
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