Questions & Answers about Lue paljon, jos haluat tulla viisaaksi!
Doesn't tulla usually mean "to come"? Why is it translated as "to become" here?
You are right! By itself, tulla means "to come". However, when you combine tulla with an adjective or noun in the translative case (which ends in -ksi), the meaning changes to "to become". So, tulla viisaaksi means "to become wise".
How does the dictionary word viisas (wise) turn into viisaaksi?
To add endings to a Finnish word, you first need to find its "stem" (the base form). For words ending in -as or -äs, you find the stem by dropping the final -s and doubling the last vowel. So, viisas becomes the stem viisaa-. Then, you just add the translative ending -ksi to get viisaaksi.
Why is the command "Read!" written as lue without the 'k' from the dictionary form lukea?
To make a casual command for one person, you start with the "I" form of the verb and drop the final -n. The "I" form of lukea undergoes consonant gradation where the 'k' disappears, giving us luen. When you take luen and drop the -n, you are left with the command form lue!