Questions & Answers about Minä pidän taiteesta.
Why does the word for art end in -sta (taiteesta)?
The verb pitää (to like) always requires the thing you like to be in the elative case, which means adding the ending -sta or -stä. In Finnish grammar, you essentially say that you like from something.
The dictionary word for art is taide. How does it become taitee-?
Finnish words ending in -e go through two changes when endings are added. First, the final -e doubles to become -ee-. Second, they use a reverse consonant gradation pattern, so the weak d in taide becomes a strong t. This gives us the stem taitee- before adding the -sta ending.
Could I use the verb tykätä (to like) instead?
Yes, you could say Minä tykkään taiteesta. Both pitää and tykätä mean to like and both require the elative case (-sta or -stä). Tykätä is very common in everyday spoken Finnish, while pitää is slightly more standard or written, but both mean the exact same thing here.
Is it necessary to include the word Minä?
No, you can simply say Pidän taiteesta. Because the verb ending -n in pidän already tells us who is doing the liking (I), the pronoun minä can safely be dropped. Including it just adds a slight emphasis.
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