Questions & Answers about Peili on pienen lampun takana.
Why do pienen and lampun both end in -n?
The word takana (behind) is a postposition, and it requires the noun before it to be in the genitive case, which adds an -n. Adjectives must match their noun's case, so pieni (small) also takes an -n to become pienen.
Wait, doesn't pieni mean small? How did it become pienen?
English says 'behind the small lamp'. Why is the order reversed in Finnish?
In English, 'behind' is a preposition, meaning it goes before the noun. In Finnish, takana is a postposition, so it always goes exactly after the noun it refers to. Because the noun is in the genitive case, you can think of it literally as 'the small lamp's behind'.
Can I use takana to say something is moving behind the lamp?
No, takana is strictly for when a person or object is stationary or already resting behind something. If you are describing movement to get behind the lamp, Finnish uses a different form of the word.
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