Breakdown of Rikollista kuulusteltiin asemalla.
asema
station
rikollinen
criminal
kuulustella
to interrogate
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Questions & Answers about Rikollista kuulusteltiin asemalla.
How is the past passive formed for the verb kuulustella?
kuulustella is a type 3 verb (ending in two consonants plus a vowel, like -lla). To form the past passive for type 3 verbs, you take the basic dictionary form, drop the final vowel, and add the passive past ending -tiin. So kuulustella drops the last -a and becomes kuulusteltiin.
Doesn't the object of a passive sentence usually look like the basic dictionary form? Why is rikollista in the partitive case?
Normally, yes! The object of a passive sentence usually drops its normal object ending and looks like the basic form (the nominative case). However, the verb kuulustella (to interrogate) is a partitive verb. Partitive verbs always require their objects to be in the partitive case, and the passive voice does not override this strict rule.
The dictionary form for criminal is rikollinen. How does it turn into rikollista?
Words ending in -nen follow a specific pattern. To find the stem for cases like the partitive, you change the -nen into an -s. The partitive ending is -ta, so rikollinen becomes the stem rikollis- plus -ta, giving us rikollista.
Why is it asemalla (at the station) rather than asemassa (in the station)?