Questions & Answers about Joku pelkää pimeää varjoa.
Why is joku used here instead of jokin?
Joku means "someone" or "somebody" and is generally used to refer to people. Jokin means "something" and is used for things, concepts, or animals. Because a person is the one experiencing the fear in this sentence, joku is the correct word.
Why are the words pimeää and varjoa in the partitive case?
The verb pelätä (to fear / to be afraid of) is a "partitive verb." This means that whatever you are afraid of must always be in the partitive case. Because adjectives must match their nouns, both the noun (varjoa) and the adjective describing it (pimeää) take the partitive ending.
What is the dictionary form of pelkää, and why does it have a "k" in it?
The dictionary form is pelätä. It is a Type 4 verb. Type 4 verbs undergo consonant gradation "in reverse" compared to standard Type 1 verbs: their dictionary form is the weak grade (no consonant between the vowels), and their conjugated forms use the strong grade (adding the k). Because it is conjugated for a third-person subject (joku), the final vowel is also doubled, giving us pelkää.
Why does pimeää end in two ä's?