Breakdown of Me lajittelemme vihannekset uusiin pusseihin.
me
we
uusi
new
vihannes
vegetable
lajitella
to sort
pussi
bag (small, paper/plastic, pouch)
Questions & Answers about Me lajittelemme vihannekset uusiin pusseihin.
Why does pussi become pusseihin in the illative plural instead of just adding -iin?
To form the plural, we first find the plural stem. For older words ending in -i like pussi, the final -i changes to -e before adding the plural -i, making the stem pussei-. Because this stem ends in two different vowels (a diphthong), the illative plural ending must be -hin, giving us pusseihin.
How is the illative plural uusiin formed from uusi (new)?
The adjective uusi modifies the bags, so it must match their case. The plural stem of uusi happens to be uusi-. Because this stem ends in a single short vowel (-i), we form the illative plural by simply lengthening that vowel and adding -n, resulting in uusiin.
Why do we use the illative case (uusiin pusseihin) with the verb lajitella?
In Finnish, verbs about putting, leaving, or sorting things usually require the destination to be in a case that expresses movement into or towards something. Because we are sorting the vegetables into the bags, we use the illative case.
Why is vihannekset in the plural nominative (-t) instead of the partitive vihanneksia?
This is a refresher on the object rule. Because the action of sorting these specific vegetables will be fully completed (a "total object"), we use the plural nominative (-t). If we were sorting an undefined amount of vegetables ("some vegetables") or if the action was ongoing, we would use the partitive vihanneksia.
The dictionary form of the verb is lajitella. Why does lajittelemme have a double tt?
The verb lajitella is a type 3 verb. Type 3 verbs undergo "reverse" consonant gradation. This means their dictionary form is in the "weak" grade (a single t) and their conjugated forms, like lajittelemme (we sort), are in the "strong" grade (a double tt).
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