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Questions & Answers about He keskustelivat arvosanasta.
How do we build the past tense verb keskustelivat?
The basic verb is keskustella (to discuss), which is a Type 3 verb. To form the past tense, you take the consonant stem keskustel-, add the past tense marker -i-, and then add the personal ending for they, which is -vat.
Why does the verb keskustella lose an L in the past tense?
Type 3 verbs ending in -lla or -llä drop one l when you form their consonant stem. The stem of keskustella is keskustel-, which is why there is only one l before the -i- marker in keskustelivat.
Why does the word for grade have the -sta ending in this sentence?
The verb keskustella always requires the thing being discussed to be in the elative case, which ends in -sta or -stä. This translates well to the English idea of talking about something. The base word is arvosana, so it becomes arvosanasta.
What does the word arvosana literally mean?
It is a compound word made of arvo (value or worth) and sana (word). Put together, it means a school grade or mark!