Questions & Answers about Lapsi kysyy viisi kertaa.
Why is kertaa singular here when the English translation says times?
In Finnish, any number greater than one is followed by a noun in the partitive singular case, not the plural. So after viisi, you must use the partitive singular form of the noun.
What is the base dictionary form of kertaa?
The base form is kerta, which means a time or occasion. To make it partitive after a number, you just add an extra -a to the end, making it kertaa.
Why does kysyy end with a double vowel?
The dictionary form of the verb is kysyä (to ask). To make it match the third-person subject lapsi (the child), you take the stem kysy- and double its final vowel, resulting in kysyy.
Why do we add an -a to kerta instead of an -ä?
This is a rule called vowel harmony. Since the word kerta contains a back vowel (a), any endings attached to it must also use back vowels. Therefore, we add -a instead of -ä.
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