Breakdown of Poika on kuntoillut paljon, ja hänellä on hiki.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
ja
and
poika
boy
paljon
a lot
kuntoilla
to exercise
hiki
sweat
Questions & Answers about Poika on kuntoillut paljon, ja hänellä on hiki.
How do we get kuntoillut from the dictionary verb kuntoilla?
Kuntoilla (to exercise) is a Type 3 verb because it ends in -lla. To form the past participle (the part used with on to mean 'has done'), the consonant from the verb ending blends with the marker. Instead of adding a standard -nut, the l doubles, making the ending -llut. So, the stem kuntoi- gets -llut, becoming kuntoillut.
Why does the sentence use on kuntoillut (has exercised) instead of the regular past tense kuntoili (exercised)?
Just like in English, the perfect tense (on kuntoillut) connects a past action to a present result. The boy exercised in the past, but the focus is on the immediate result happening right now: he is currently sweaty.
Why does it say hänellä on hiki to mean 'he is sweaty'?
Finnish very often uses the 'to have' structure for physical sensations rather than using an adjective. Hänellä on hiki literally translates to 'on him is sweat' (he has sweat). This is the most natural way to say someone is sweaty, similar to how you would say minulla on kylmä (I am cold, literally 'I have cold').
What form is the word hiki in this sentence?
Hiki (sweat) is a noun in its basic nominative form. In Finnish 'to have' sentences like hänellä on, the thing being possessed is actually the grammatical subject of the sentence, so it stays in its basic dictionary form.
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