Questions & Answers about Isännät ostavat uusia peltoja.
Why does peltoja keep the strong lt consonants, when the basic plural pellot uses the weak ll?
Consonant gradation (weakening a consonant) usually happens when an ending creates a closed syllable (a syllable ending in a consonant, like the -t in pellot). The partitive plural ending -ja ends in a vowel, so the syllable stays open. Therefore, the strong lt in pelto doesn't weaken when making the partitive plural peltoja.
Why does isäntä change to isännät in this sentence?
To make the basic plural (nominative plural), we add -t. This creates a closed syllable at the end of the word, which triggers consonant gradation. The strong consonant combination nt in isäntä weakens to nn, giving us isännät.
Why is the object uusia peltoja in the partitive case?
In Finnish, the object of a sentence takes the partitive case when it represents an indefinite amount. Here, the farmers are buying "some new fields" rather than a specific, known set of fields. Because there is more than one field, it is put into the partitive plural.
Why is the partitive plural ending -ja for pelto but only -a for uusi?