Questions & Answers about Kissa istuu reiässä.
How does the word reikä (hole) turn into reiässä?
This is consonant gradation in action! The base word is reikä. When we add the ending -ssä (meaning 'in'), it closes the final syllable. This triggers a rule where the single k completely disappears. So, reikä drops the k to become the stem reiä-, and we add -ssä to make reiässä.
Why does the ending use -ssä instead of -ssa?
Because of vowel harmony. The word reikä contains the front vowel ä, as well as the neutral vowels e and i. When a word has a front vowel, its endings must also use front vowels. Therefore, we use -ssä.
Why is there no word for 'the' in this sentence?
Finnish does not have articles like 'a' or 'the'. The word reiässä can mean 'in a hole' or 'in the hole'. You have to use the context of the situation to decide which translation makes the most sense in English.
Why is the verb istuu spelled with a double u?
The dictionary form of the verb is istua (to sit). To say 'he, she, or it sits', you take the basic verb stem istu- and double its last vowel. Since the cat is doing the sitting (like a 'he' or 'she'), we double the u to get istuu.
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