Breakdown of ”Seuraava korotus on sata euroa”, sanoi meklari hienovaraisesti.
olla
to be
sanoa
to say
euro
euro
sata
one hundred
Questions & Answers about ”Seuraava korotus on sata euroa”, sanoi meklari hienovaraisesti.
Why is the order sanoi meklari instead of meklari sanoi?
In Finnish reported speech, when the reporting clause immediately follows a direct quote, the subject and verb are typically inverted. Instead of the standard subject-verb order, we use verb-subject (sanoi meklari). This is the standard style in literature and journalism.
Could the adverb hienovaraisesti go before the verb here?
No, in this inverted structure ([Quote] + Verb + Subject), adverbs that describe how the person spoke naturally belong at the end of the clause. Placing the adverb right after the quote would disrupt the tight structural link between the quotation and the reporting verb.
How is the adverb hienovaraisesti built?
It is formed from the adjective hienovarainen (subtle or discreet), which itself is a compound of hieno (fine) and varainen (cautious). To turn an adjective ending in -nen into an adverb, you replace the -nen ending with -sti.
Why is euroa in the partitive case?
Because it follows the number sata (a hundred). In Finnish, any base number greater than one requires the noun it counts to be in the partitive singular. Even though sata euroa acts as a nominative subject complement here, the internal rule for numbers still forces euro into the partitive.