Breakdown of Artikkeli oli hyvin vaikea.
olla
to be
vaikea
difficult / hard
hyvin
very
artikkeli
the article
Questions & Answers about Artikkeli oli hyvin vaikea.
Is olla (to be) considered a Type 3 verb, and how does it form the past tense oli?
Yes, olla is a Type 3 verb. To form the past tense (imperfect), we take the consonant stem ol- and add the past tense marker -i. Because this sentence is in the 3rd person singular (it was), no personal ending is added, so the final word is just oli.
I thought hyvin means "well". Why is it translated as "very" in this sentence?
You are right that hyvin is the adverb form of hyvä (good) and means "well" when describing an action. However, when placed directly in front of an adjective, hyvin is commonly used to mean "very". It functions exactly like tosi (really), but sounds slightly more formal or written.
Why is vaikea in the basic form instead of the partitive case (vaikeaa)?
When describing a subject using the verb olla, the adjective takes the basic nominative form if the subject is a single, countable thing. Because an article (artikkeli) is a specific, countable object, vaikea stays in its basic form. If the subject were an uncountable mass or abstract concept (like coffee or weather), the adjective would be in the partitive.
Since artikkeli has a double consonant (kk), does it undergo consonant gradation if we add endings?
No, it does not. While many native Finnish words drop a consonant when endings are added (like kukka becoming kukan), artikkeli is an international loanword. Many newer loanwords ignore consonant gradation, meaning the double kk stays strong in all forms, such as in the genitive form artikkelin.
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