Questions & Answers about Mies lainaa miekan peikoilta.
How is the word peikoilta formed?
It comes from the word peikko (troll). To make it plural, we add the plural marker -i-. The ablative ending for "from" is -lta. Adding these endings triggers consonant gradation, weakening the strong double kk to a single k. So we get: peikko -> peikoi- -> peikoilta.
I thought lainaa means both "borrows" and "lends". How do we know he is borrowing?
You're right, the verb lainata can mean either! The clue is in the case of the other words. Peikoilta has the ablative (-lta) ending, meaning "from". If you are taking a sword from the trolls, you are borrowing it. If he were lending it to the trolls, we would use the allative ending (-lle) and say peikoille.
Why is the word for sword miekan instead of miekka?
Miekka is the object of the sentence—the thing being borrowed. Because he is borrowing a full sword, it takes the accusative ending -n. Adding this -n closes the final syllable, which triggers consonant gradation and weakens the double kk to a single k: miekan.
Why doesn't the verb lainaa have a personal ending here?
It actually does! It comes from the infinitive lainata (to borrow/lend), which is a Type 4 verb. To find the stem, the -ta drops and becomes an -a, giving us lainaa-. For the third-person singular ("he/she/it borrows"), we normally lengthen the final vowel, but since it is already a double vowel, it just stays lainaa.
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