Questions & Answers about Vauvana minä olin aina nälkäinen.
How does vauvana mean 'as a baby'?
It is the word vauva (baby) with the essive case ending -na. The essive case is used to express a role, position, or a temporary state in life. Adding -na to a noun often translates perfectly to 'as a...' in English.
Why use nälkäinen here instead of saying minulla oli nälkä?
Why does vauvana take the -na ending instead of -nä?
This is due to vowel harmony. The word vauva contains the back vowels a and u, so it must take the back-vowel ending -na. Words with front vowels take -nä, for example, lääkärinä (as a doctor).
Can I change the word order and put vauvana at the end of the sentence?
Yes! Finnish word order is quite flexible. Minä olin aina nälkäinen vauvana is completely correct. Putting vauvana at the beginning simply emphasizes the timeframe, exactly like starting with 'As a baby...' in English.