Breakdown of Linnassa on aaveita, joiden kummittelu on selittämätöntä.
olla
to be
linna
castle
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
aave
the ghost
Questions & Answers about Linnassa on aaveita, joiden kummittelu on selittämätöntä.
Why is the verb on in the singular when the subject aaveita (ghosts) is plural?
This is a classic existential clause, which starts with a location (linnassa) and introduces what exists there. In Finnish, the verb in an existential clause is always in the third-person singular (on), even if the subject is plural. This is the exact same underlying structure as the dynamic existential clauses (like using ilmestyy or syntyy) you are learning in this lesson.
Why is joiden used here to mean "whose"?
joiden is the genitive plural form of the relative pronoun joka (who/which). It refers back to the plural word aaveita. Because it acts as a possessive for the following noun kummittelu (the haunting of the ghosts), it takes the genitive case.
Why is the adjective selittämätöntä in the partitive case rather than the nominative selittämätön?
The subject of this relative clause is kummittelu (haunting). Since kummittelu is an abstract, uncountable noun describing an activity, the predicative adjective describing it must be in the partitive case. If the subject were a countable, concrete noun, the adjective would be in the nominative.
How is the adjective selittämätöntä formed?