Questions & Answers about Minulla on näitä hajuvesiä kotona.
Why is näitä used here instead of the basic plural nämä?
näitä is the partitive plural of tämä (this). In "I have" sentences (Minulla on), we use the partitive plural when we are talking about an unspecified amount, meaning "some of these perfumes".
Could I say Minulla on nämä hajuvedet kotona instead?
Yes, but the meaning changes. Using the basic plural nämä hajuvedet means "I have all of these specific perfumes at home." Using the partitive plural näitä hajuvesiä means "I have some of these perfumes at home."
Why does hajuvesiä take the front vowel ending -ä when the word has the back vowels a and u?
hajuvesi is a compound word made of haju (smell) and vesi (water). In Finnish, compound words always follow the vowel harmony of the last word in the compound. Since vesi only has the neutral vowels e and i, it takes the front vowel ending -ä.
Why do we use kotona for "at home" instead of a regular location ending?
The word koti (home) is a common exception. Instead of using the regular "in" case (kodissa) to say you are in your house, Finnish uses the fixed form kotona to mean "at home".
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