Questions & Answers about Minä pyysin kultaa peikoilta.
How is peikoilta formed from peikko?
To form the plural ablative, start with the stem of peikko. The double kk weakens to a single k due to consonant gradation, giving peiko-. Then, add the plural marker -i- and the ablative ending -lta (meaning "from").
Why do we use the ablative case for the trolls?
In Finnish, the verb pyytää (to ask for or to request) requires the person you are asking to be in the ablative case. While in English you ask something "for" someone, in Finnish you literally ask it "from" them.
The dictionary form of the verb is pyytää, so why is the past tense pyysin?
When forming the past tense, a t in the verb stem often changes to an s before the past tense marker -i-. So, the stem changes from pyytä- to pyysi-, and adding the "I" ending (-n) makes it pyysin.
Why is the word for gold in the partitive case (kultaa)?
Kulta is an uncountable mass noun, much like water or sand. Because you are asking for an unspecified amount of it (essentially "some gold"), the object must be in the partitive case, which adds the -a ending.