Negative addition (saati sitten / puhumattakaan)

Negative Addition in Finnish

When you want to emphasize how unlikely or severe a situation is by adding a stronger second point—such as "I don't like X, let alone Y"—you can use puhumattakaan (not to mention) or saati sitten (let alone).

Using Puhumattakaan

Puhumattakaan literally translates to "without even speaking [of]." Because you speak about something using the elative case (-sta / -stä), the noun paired with puhumattakaan must always be in the elative. Note that the noun comes before the word puhumattakaan.

This rule applies even if the first half of the sentence uses a different case. For example, verbs like kammoksua (to dread) take a partitive object, but the additional noun before puhumattakaan is still in the elative.

Using Saati sitten

Saati sitten means "let alone," and it comes before the noun it introduces. Unlike puhumattakaan, it simply matches the case of the noun it refers back to in the first part of the sentence. When paired with verbs that naturally require the elative case—such as pitää (to like) or kärsiä (to suffer from)—the noun following saati sitten will also be in the elative.

Phobias and Fears

This grammar is perfect for talking about strong fears. Many specific phobias in Finnish are compound words ending in -kammo (dread/phobia).

Combine these terms with negative addition to express the severity of a fear.