Questions & Answers about Minä kieltäydyn valittamasta!
Why is "to complain" in the -masta form here instead of the basic valittaa?
The verb kieltäytyä (to refuse) requires the following verb to be in the third infinitive elative form, which ends in -masta or -mästä. In Finnish logic, you don't refuse to do something; you refuse from doing it. The -sta ending literally means "from".
How do you build valittamasta from the basic verb valittaa?
To make this form, you use the strong stem of the verb. You can find this by looking at the "they" form: he valittavat. Drop the -vat to get the stem valitta-. Then add the third infinitive marker -ma-, and finally the elative ending -sta. Notice that the double tt stays strong here!
Kieltäydyn looks a lot like kieltää (to forbid). Are they related?
Yes! Kieltää means to forbid or deny. The -ytyä ending often makes a verb reflexive, meaning the action happens to the speaker themselves. So kieltäytyä literally means to forbid yourself from doing something, which translates perfectly to "refuse".
Can I drop the word Minä in this sentence?
Absolutely. The -n ending on kieltäydyn already shows that the subject is "I". Saying Kieltäydyn valittamasta! is completely natural. Including Minä just gives the sentence extra emphasis, as if saying "I, for one, refuse to complain!"
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