Breakdown of Odotimme opasta nähtävyyden edessä.
odottaa
to wait
edessä
in front of
opas
the guide
nähtävyys
the sight
Questions & Answers about Odotimme opasta nähtävyyden edessä.
Why does the past tense of odottaa become odotimme instead of something like 'odotoimme' or 'odottimme'?
Odottaa (to wait) is a Type 1 verb. While two-syllable verbs ending in -aa often change the a to an o in the past tense (like antaa becoming annoin), verbs with three or more syllables usually drop the final a before the past tense -i-. Also, because the ending -mme closes the syllable, consonant gradation changes the strong tt into a weak single t. So odottaa becomes odotimme.
Why is the word for guide, opas, in the partitive case (opasta)?
The verb odottaa is a partitive verb. This means that the person or thing you are waiting for must always be in the partitive case. Because we are waiting for the guide, opas becomes opasta.
Why is the word for sight (nähtävyys) in the genitive case (nähtävyyden)?
It is paired with the postposition edessä (in front of). In Finnish, postpositions almost always require the noun that comes right before them to be in the genitive case, which ends in -n.
I know nähdä means 'to see'. Is nähtävyys related to it?
Yes! Nähtävyys is built from the verb nähdä (to see). It first becomes nähtävä (something to be seen), and then the ending -yys turns it into a noun. So a nähtävyys is literally a 'thing to be seen', which we call a sight or attraction in English.
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