Questions & Answers about Kuka antaa ruokaa näille eläimille?
Why do we use the allative (-lle) ending on näille eläimille?
The verb antaa (to give) requires the recipient to be in the allative case because you are giving something to someone or something. This case acts like the English word "to" for people and animals.
How does the word tämä (this) become näille (to these)?
The pronoun tämä is irregular and has the plural stem näi-. When you add the allative ending -lle to that plural stem, you get näille.
What is the base form of eläimille, and how is its plural built here?
The base form is eläin (animal). Nouns ending in -in change to an -ime- stem before endings are attached. When we add the plural marker -i-, it becomes eläimi-. Finally, we attach the allative ending -lle to get eläimille.
Why is ruokaa in the partitive case instead of the accusative?
Because ruoka (food) is an uncountable mass noun. Using the partitive case here means "some food" or an unspecified amount of food, rather than a specific, countable portion.