Word
Sokkelossa, jossa olemme, suuntavaisto on pidettävä kunnossa kartalla.
Meaning
In the maze where we are, the sense of direction must be kept in shape with a map.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Sokkelossa, jossa olemme, suuntavaisto on pidettävä kunnossa kartalla.
olla
to be
kartta
map
kunto
fitness
joka
who / which (relative pronoun)
Questions & Answers about Sokkelossa, jossa olemme, suuntavaisto on pidettävä kunnossa kartalla.
In spoken Finnish, I usually hear missä olemme for 'where we are'. Why does this sentence use jossa olemme?
In colloquial Finnish, it is very common to use the relative pronoun mikä (in the inessive case, missä) to refer to physical locations. However, the strict standard written rule requires the pronoun joka for physical places like a maze (sokkelo). Therefore, jossa ('in which') is the grammatically correct choice for the written register here.
Why is suuntavaisto in the nominative case rather than the genitive, since it is the thing being kept in shape?
This sentence uses a necessity structure with the passive present participle (on pidettävä, 'must be kept'). A major rule you have likely seen before is that sentences expressing necessity do not take a genitive object. Instead, the total object takes the nominative case, which is why we see suuntavaisto rather than suuntavaiston.
Does the adessive word kartalla literally mean we are physically 'on a map'?
Not in this context. While the adessive case (-lla / -llä) often indicates being physically on top of something, it is also the standard case for expressing the instrument or tool used to perform an action. Here, kartalla means 'by means of a map' or 'with a map'.
Why is kunnossa in the inessive (-ssa) case?