Breakdown of Naapurustomme on hiljainen, mutta alueemme on vanha.
olla
to be
mutta
but
vanha
old
hiljainen
quiet
naapurusto
the neighborhood
alue
the area
Questions & Answers about Naapurustomme on hiljainen, mutta alueemme on vanha.
How does the possessive suffix -mme attach to naapurusto?
It attaches directly to the end of the word! Since naapurusto is in its basic form (the nominative case), you simply stick the ending -mme (our) onto it to get naapurustomme (our neighborhood).
Why does alue (area) get an extra e before the -mme in alueemme?
For Finnish words that end in -e (like alue, huone, or perhe), you must use their stem form before adding a possessive suffix. You form this stem by doubling the final e. So, alue becomes the stem aluee-, and adding the suffix gives us alueemme.
Why don't we see the word for "our" (meidän) in this sentence?
In Finnish, when you use a first- or second-person possessive suffix (like -mme for "our" or -nne for "your plural"), the separate pronoun (meidän or teidän) is completely optional. You can say meidän naapurustomme, but dropping the pronoun to just say naapurustomme is perfectly natural and common.
Does the word naapurusto come from the word for "neighbor"?
Yes! The basic word for "neighbor" is naapuri. The ending -sto (or -stö) is a common Finnish suffix used to describe a collection or group of things. So, a "collection of neighbors" becomes naapurusto (neighborhood). You might also recognize this suffix from kirja (book) turning into kirjasto (library).
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