antaa luonnon tehdä tehtävänsä

[Satish]

I was looking at a list of idioms collected here when I came across:

antaa luonnon tehdä tehtävänsä

While I get the overall meaning "let nature do its work", I was interested why luonto was in the genitive luonnon.

Looking at the verb antaa which is transitive, I first thought that luonto is the singular object of antaa therefore luonnon would make sense. However, there are many examples on the internet where antaa is either in the passive or in the imperative mood and luonto still appears as luonnon.

Tämän jälkeen annetaan luonnon tehdä tehtävänsä.
Pane kaivonkansi kiinni ja anna luonnon tehdä tehtävänsä.

I would have expected to see luonto in these examples and I am still not convinced that antaa luonnon tehdä tehtävänsä is correct...

[Rob A.]

I believe we are into the realm of the genitive complement....
Here's a previous thread with some links:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=51219

I think you can confirm that luonnon is in the genitive by substituting hän...

...antaa hänen tehdä tehtävänsä....NOT *antaa hänet tehdä tehtävänsä....and tehtävänsä is also in the genitive, though it is "masked" a bit by the possessive ending....

So I think it is as simple as that.... if the construction didn't call for a genitive complement then it would be luonto and the construction might be equivalent to something awkward like:

"(To) let that nature do its job." ...Antaa että luonto tekee hänen tehtävänsä...

[Satish]

I believe we are into the realm of the genitive complement....
Here's a previous thread with some links:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=51219

I think you can confirm that luonnon is in the genitive by substituting hän...

Rob, I had a look at this and it seems to be related mainly to complements of nouns, so I was quite confused...

So I think it is as simple as that.... if the construction didn't call for a genitive complement then it would be luonto and the construction might be equivalent to something awkward like:

"(To) let that nature do its job." ...Antaa että luonto tekee hänen tehtävänsä...

I think this is getting to the answer. I was flipping through my Leila White Grammar book and the genitive is described as a subject / agent in participial or infinitive constructs replacing subordinate clauses. She goes on to give a few examples:
Luulen Pekan tulevan kello viisi. (Luulen, että Pekka tulee kello viisi)
Roopen syödessä Ville katseli televisiota. (Kun Roope söi, Ville katseli televisiota)

These two are fairly straightforward. Her third example really hits the mark

Annoin hänen mennä ulos. (Sanoin, että hän saa mennä ulos)

So, I think you were really right in the second explanation!