Questions & Answers about Me siivoamme uusilla liinoilla.
Why do we use the adessive ending -lla for "with cloths"?
In Finnish, the adessive case (ending in -lla or -llä) is used to talk about the tool or instrument you use to do an action. So liinoilla literally means "using cloths" or "by means of cloths".
Why does the adjective uusi (new) also get the plural adessive ending?
Finnish adjectives must always match the noun they describe in both case and number. Since liinoilla is in the adessive plural, the adjective must also be in the adessive plural, becoming uusilla.
How do we build the plural form uusilla from the basic word uusi?
Words ending in -si (like uusi) can be tricky. In the singular adessive, the stem changes to use a "d" (making uudella). But in the plural, the stem keeps the "s". You take the plural stem uusi- and attach the adessive ending -lla directly to it.
What type of verb is siivoamme?
It comes from the verb siivota (to clean), which is a type 4 verb. To conjugate it, you drop the final -ta and add a matching vowel (an extra -a here) to get the stem siivoa-. Then you just add the personal ending -mme.