Questions & Answers about Uusi bussi lähtee Espooseen.
Why does the ending for 'to Espoo' use -seen instead of just a vowel and an -n?
The name Espoo ends in two of the same vowels (a long vowel). When a word ends in a long vowel, the illative ('into') ending becomes -seen to make it easier to say. So, Espoo + -seen becomes Espooseen.
The illative case usually means 'into,' but the English translation says leaving 'for' Espoo. Why use Espooseen here?
In English we say a bus leaves 'for' a place, but in Finnish, the verb lähteä (to leave) requires the destination to be in the illative case. You can think of it as the bus leaving to go into Espoo.
What is the basic form of the verb lähtee and why does it end in a double e?
The basic dictionary form is lähteä (to leave). To make the 'he/she/it' form (like 'the bus leaves'), you take the stem lähte- and double the last vowel, giving you lähtee.
Why do uusi and bussi look exactly like their dictionary forms?
Because they are the subject of the sentence (the thing doing the leaving). In Finnish, the subject is normally in the basic nominative case, which means no extra endings are added.
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