Questions & Answers about Oletko pankissa nostamassa rahaa?
How does the word nostamassa work in this sentence?
This is the third infinitive inessive form, which you are learning in this lesson! It is made by taking the verb nostaa (to withdraw), finding the strong stem (nosta-), and adding -massa. Used with oletko (are you), it shows that you are currently in the middle of doing the action: 'are you withdrawing'.
The word for bank is pankki, so why does it only have one k in pankissa?
This is because of consonant gradation. When you add the inessive ending -ssa (in/at), it closes the last syllable. This causes the strong double consonant kk in pankki to weaken into a single k.
Why is the word for money, rahaa, in the partitive case instead of just being raha?
There are two reasons here. First, money is an uncountable mass noun. Second, the action of withdrawing is ongoing right now (shown by the -massa form), and ongoing actions usually require a partitive object.
Does the verb nostaa always mean 'to withdraw'?
Not exactly! The basic meaning of nostaa is 'to lift' or 'to raise'. In a banking context, Finns talk about lifting money out of an account, which naturally translates to withdrawing.