Breakdown of Itse asiassa pidän tästä kaupungista.
tämä
this
kaupunki
city
pitää
to like
itse asiassa
as a matter of fact
Questions & Answers about Itse asiassa pidän tästä kaupungista.
How does the phrase itse asiassa literally translate to as a matter of fact?
The phrase is made of two words: itse, which means self or itself, and asiassa, which is the inessive (in) form of asia (matter or thing). Literally, it translates to in the matter itself. It is the standard Finnish expression for actually or as a matter of fact.
Why is the word for city spelled kaupungista instead of kaupunkista?
This is due to consonant gradation. The base word is kaupunki. When you add a closed-syllable ending like the elative suffix -sta, the strong nk consonant combination softens to the weak ng. Therefore, kaupunki changes its stem to kaupungi- before adding the suffix.
Why are the words for this city in the elative case (tästä kaupungista)?
The verb pitää (to like) dictates the case of the object it takes. It requires the thing being liked to be in the elative case, which ends in -sta or -stä. Because pronouns must agree with the noun they modify, both tämä (this) and kaupunki (city) take the elative ending, resulting in tästä kaupungista.
Can I place itse asiassa at the end of the sentence?
Placing itse asiassa at the beginning of the sentence sets up a slight contrast or surprise right away. You could technically put it at the end (Pidän tästä kaupungista itse asiassa), but it sounds much more like a conversational afterthought rather than a deliberate opening statement.
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