Questions & Answers about Hän tykkää vanhasta taiteesta.
Why do the words for old and art end in -sta in this sentence?
The verb tykätä (to like) is a special verb that requires the thing you like to be in the elative case. This means adding the ending -sta or -stä. Because old art is the thing being liked, it gets this ending.
Why does the adjective vanha (old) also get the -sta ending?
In Finnish, adjectives have to match the case of the noun they describe. Since the noun taiteesta has taken the elative case ending because of the verb tykkää, the adjective attached to it must do the exact same thing, becoming vanhasta.
The dictionary form of the word for art is taide. How does it become taiteesta?
Finnish words ending in -de follow a special pattern. When you prepare them for an ending, the -de changes to -tee-. So, the base for taide becomes taitee-. Then you simply add the -sta ending to get taiteesta.
Could I use the verb pitää instead of tykätä here?
Yes, absolutely! Hän pitää vanhasta taiteesta means exactly the same thing. Tykätä is extremely common in spoken, everyday Finnish, while pitää is a bit more standard or formal. Both verbs require the exact same -sta or -stä ending for the thing you like.
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