# Kauppias myy tuotteitaan



## macforever

I'd like to say: The shopkeeper sells his items.
Kauppias myy tuotteitaan.
How does it sound?


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## Gavril

macforever said:


> I'd like to say: The shopkeeper sells his items.
> Kauppias myy tuotteitaan.
> How does it sound?



It sounds good, but it means "The shopkeeper/vendor is selling his products" -- i.e., he is selling them right now.

If you want to make a general statement, such as "The shopkeeper sells his products five days a week", I think you would have to say, _Kauppias myy tuotteensa (viisi päivää viikossa)._


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## DrWatson

Gavril said:


> It sounds good, but it means "The shopkeeper/vendor is selling his products" -- i.e., he is selling them right now.
> 
> If you want to make a general statement, such as "The shopkeeper sells his products five days a week", I think you would have to say, _Kauppias myy tuotteensa (viisi päivää viikossa)__._


 _Kauppias myy tuotteitaan_ has both meanings: a general statement and that he's selling them at the moment. An example, where Gavril's suggestion is used, could be _Kauppias myy tuotteensa tunnissa _("The vendor sells his products in an hour", ie. all the products are sold out after an hour).


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## macforever

Dr Watson, are you saying my sentence was OK?


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## Gavril

DrWatson said:


> _Kauppias myy tuotteitaan_ has both meanings: a general statement and that he's selling them at the moment. An example, where Gavril's suggestion is used, could be _Kauppias myy tuotteensa tunnissa _("The vendor sells his products in an hour", ie. all the products are sold out after an hour).



Whoops -- I thought that the possessive ("his products") implied that the noun phrase was definite, and therefore should be translated _tuotteensa_. But I forgot that English is ambiguous in this situation: depending on the context, "He sells his products" can mean either "He sells some of his products" (tuotteitaan) or "He sells all of his products" (tuotteensa).

Since "He sells some of his products" is probably the more common interpretation, _Kauppias myy tuotteitaan_ (as Macforever originally wrote) is a better translation. Sorry for the misinformation.


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## macforever

It's OK, Gavril. Thank you.


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