Learn Finnish: ”Kymmenen tuhatta euroa”, sanoi huutaja ja katsoi nuijaa. - "Ten thousand euros," the bidder said and looked at the gavel.

This showcases the subject-verb inversion used in reported speech. When a direct quotation comes first, the reporting clause that immediately follows it flips the normal word order. This is why we see the verb sanoi before the subject huutaja.

Why is the word for thousand in the partitive form (tuhatta)?

In Finnish, a number greater than one forces the word immediately following it into the partitive singular. Here, the number kymmenen (ten) modifies tuhat (thousand), so it becomes tuhatta.

Does the word euroa also get its partitive form from the number?

Exactly. The entire phrase kymmenen tuhatta (ten thousand) functions as a single number counting the euros. Therefore, the noun being counted (euro) must also take the partitive singular form, becoming euroa.

Does the word huutaja literally mean shouter?

Yes, it is formed from the verb huutaa (to shout or call out) and the agent suffix -ja (indicating a person who does the action). At an auction, a bidder calls out their price, so huutaja is the standard term for a bidder. For context, an auction is a huutokauppa (literally a shout-shop).