alasivulause

The term "alasivulause" is a Finnish grammatical term referring to a subordinate clause. In Finnish grammar, an alasivulause functions as a dependent clause, meaning it cannot stand alone as a complete sentence and relies on a main clause for its full meaning. These clauses are typically introduced by subordinating conjunctions or relative pronouns.

Subordinating conjunctions in Finnish, such as 'että' (that), 'joka' (who, which), 'kun' (when), 'jos' (if), and 'koska' (because), signal the beginning of an alasivulause. For example, in the sentence "Minä tiedän, että hän tulee" (I know that he is coming), "että hän tulee" is the alasivulause, dependent on the main clause "Minä tiedän".

Relative pronouns also introduce alasivulauseita, functioning similarly to relative clauses in English. The pronoun 'joka' is commonly used for this purpose. An example would be: "Talo, jonka ostin, on vanha" (The house, which I bought, is old), where "jonka ostin" is the alasivulause.

The use of alasivulauseita allows for more complex sentence structures and the expression of nuanced relationships between ideas. They are essential for conveying detailed information, expressing causality, conditionality, and temporal relationships within a sentence. Understanding the function and construction of alasivulauseita is fundamental to mastering Finnish syntax.