Breakdown of Olemme vielä ruokakaupassa etsimässä maitoa.
olla
to be
vielä
yet / still
etsiä
to look for
maito
milk
ruokakauppa
grocery store
Questions & Answers about Olemme vielä ruokakaupassa etsimässä maitoa.
Why use etsimässä here instead of the basic verb form etsiä?
This sentence uses the third infinitive inessive form, which you are learning now. You use it with the verb olla (to be) to say that you are currently in the middle of doing something. Olemme etsimässä means we are actively in the process of looking for something.
Why does the ending for the third infinitive here use -mässä rather than -massa?
This is due to vowel harmony. The basic verb is etsiä. Since its root only contains the vowels E and I, the ending must use the front vowel Ä. Therefore, we add -mässä instead of -massa.
Why is the word for milk in the partitive form (maitoa)?
Why does ruokakaupassa only have one p when the basic word is ruokakauppa?
This is an example of consonant gradation. When you add the -ssa ending (in/inside) to ruokakauppa, it closes the final syllable. This forces the strong double pp to weaken into a single p.
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