Breakdown of Valokuva todistaa, että auto oli paikalla.
olla
to be
auto
the car
valokuva
the photo
että
that (clause)
Questions & Answers about Valokuva todistaa, että auto oli paikalla.
Why are there no words for the or a in Valokuva and auto?
Finnish does not have articles like English a/an and the.
So:
- valokuva can mean a photo or the photo
- auto can mean a car or the car
The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, the context tells us that we are talking about a specific photo and a specific car, so English often translates them with the.
What form is todistaa here?
Here todistaa is the 3rd person singular present tense form of the verb todistaa, meaning proves.
A useful thing to notice is that in many Finnish verbs, the basic dictionary form and the he/she/it form look the same. So:
- infinitive: todistaa = to prove
- 3rd person singular present: todistaa = he/she/it proves
In this sentence, valokuva is the subject, so todistaa means the photo proves.
Why is there a comma before että?