Breakdown of Siivoojat työskentelevät hiljaisilla imureilla.
hiljainen
quiet
siivooja
the cleaner
työskennellä
to work
imuri
vacuum cleaner
Questions & Answers about Siivoojat työskentelevät hiljaisilla imureilla.
Why are hiljaisilla and imureilla in the adessive (-lla/-llä) case here? Doesn't that usually mean on or at?
While the adessive case is often used for locations (on, at), it is also used to show the tool or instrument you use to perform an action. Here, hiljaisilla imureilla translates to 'with quiet vacuum cleaners'.
How does the word imuri (vacuum cleaner) become imureilla? Where does the e come from?
The word imuri ends in an -i. When you add the plural marker -i before the case ending, you would get two i letters in a row. Because Finnish avoids this, the stem's -i changes to an -e. So, imuri becomes the stem imure-, adds the plural -i-, and then the ending -lla, resulting in imureilla.
What is the base form of hiljaisilla, and how does it change to this plural form?
The base form is hiljainen (quiet). For words ending in -nen, the singular stem ends in -se (hiljaise-). When making it plural, that -e drops before the plural -i, giving the plural stem hiljaisi-. Finally, you add the adessive ending -lla to get hiljaisilla.
The dictionary form for work is työskennellä. Why does it change to työskentelevät here?
Työskennellä is a type 3 verb. To find the stem, you remove the -llä ending and apply consonant gradation. The weak consonants -nn- in the dictionary form become the strong -nt- in the conjugated stem. Then you add an extra -e- before the personal ending, making the stem työskentele-. Adding the 'they' ending -vät gives työskentelevät.
Learn Siivoojat työskentelevät hiljaisilla imureilla and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free