Breakdown of Onko järvi matalampi kuin meri?
olla
to be
meri
sea
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
matala
shallow, low
Questions & Answers about Onko järvi matalampi kuin meri?
How is the comparative word matalampi formed here?
The base adjective is matala (shallow). To make it comparative (shallower), we add the suffix -mpi to the stem. Because matala ends in a short vowel, we just attach -mpi directly to get matalampi.
How do we express "than" in this sentence?
The word kuin translates to "than" when comparing two things. It directly follows the comparative adjective, similar to English word order: matalampi kuin (shallower than).
Why does the sentence start with onko instead of just on?
The word on means "is". To turn a statement into a yes/no question, we attach the question particle -ko to the verb and move it to the beginning of the sentence.
Is there another way to say "than the sea" without using the word kuin?
Yes! Instead of using kuin plus the basic nominative form (meri), you can drop kuin completely and put the compared noun in the partitive case (merta). So matalampi merta means the exact same thing as matalampi kuin meri.