Breakdown of Miksi te juoksette näyttelyyn?
te
you (plural/formal)
miksi
why
juosta
to run
näyttely
exhibition
Questions & Answers about Miksi te juoksette näyttelyyn?
The lesson is about -hVn and -seen endings. Why doesn't näyttelyyn use one of those?
Those special endings are for words that already end in a long vowel or a vowel combination (like työ -> työhön or Lontoo -> Lontooseen). The dictionary form here is näyttely (exhibition), which ends in a single short vowel. For these, the illative ("into") case is simpler: just double that final vowel and add -n. So, näyttely + y + n = näyttelyyn.
Where does the -kse- in juoksette come from?
The dictionary form is juosta (to run). This is a "Type 3" verb, which often ends in -sta or -stä. To conjugate it, you drop the -sta and replace it with -kse- before adding your personal ending. Here, we add the plural "you" ending -tte, giving us juoksette.
How do we know it means "are running" instead of just "run"?
Finnish doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense for actions happening right now. Te juoksette translates to both "you run" (in general) and "you are running" (currently). The context of asking "why" someone is moving toward a destination makes "are running" the most natural English translation here.
What would happen if I said näyttelyssä instead of näyttelyyn?
It would completely change the meaning! Näyttelyyn means you are moving into the destination ("running to the exhibition"). If you used the ending -ssä ("in/inside"), it would mean you are already inside the building, running around among the exhibits.
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