Breakdown of Minulla on viisi vuotta työkokemusta.
olla
to be
minä
I
viisi
five
vuosi
year
työkokemus
work experience
Questions & Answers about Minulla on viisi vuotta työkokemusta.
Why is työkokemusta in the partitive case rather than the genitive?
English uses the preposition of for both possession and amounts, which often tempts learners to use the Finnish genitive. However, in Finnish, expressions of quantity or measure always take the partitive. Just as you say lasi vettä (a glass of water), the time period viisi vuotta acts as a measure phrase for the uncountable noun työkokemus.
Why are there two partitive words in a row with vuotta työkokemusta?
They are in the partitive for two different reasons. The word vuotta is in the partitive singular because it directly follows the number viisi. Then, työkokemusta is in the partitive because it is the substance being measured by the phrase viisi vuotta. This chaining of rules is very common in Finnish.
What is the nominative base form of työkokemusta and why does it take a -ta ending?
The base form is työkokemus. Abstract nouns ending in -us or -ys usually change the -s to -kse- when adding most endings, like the genitive työkokemuksen. However, the partitive case is an exception for this word type: you simply add -ta or -tä directly to the basic nominative form.
In the Minulla on structure, the thing possessed is usually the subject. Is that still true when it is a long phrase?
Yes! Even though it contains partitive words, the head of the phrase is the number viisi, which is in the nominative case. Therefore, the entire phrase viisi vuotta työkokemusta functions grammatically as the subject of the singular verb on.
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