Learn Finnish: Älä laita noita kynsilakkoja! - Do not put on those nail polishes!

noita is the partitive plural form of the demonstrative pronoun tuo (that). Since it describes the partitive plural noun kynsilakkoja, it has to perfectly match its case and number.

Why is the object noita kynsilakkoja in the partitive case instead of a regular plural?

In Finnish, the object of a negative sentence is always in the partitive case. Because this is a negative command (Älä laita meaning "Do not put"), the object must take the partitive plural form.

How is the plural partitive word kynsilakkoja formed from the basic word kynsilakka?

To form the partitive plural, you need the plural marker -i- and the partitive ending -a. For words ending in -a like kynsilakka, the final -a turns into an -o- before the plural -i-. The -i- then becomes a -j- between two vowels, giving us kynsilakkoja.

The verb is laita. Does laittaa usually mean "to put on" when talking about makeup?

Yes! You might already know laittaa as "to put" or "to prepare" (like laittaa ruokaa). It is also the most natural verb to use for applying makeup, putting on nail polish, or fixing your hair.