Breakdown of Torni on matalampi kuin vuori.
olla
to be
torni
the tower
kuin
than / like / as (also in "before …")
matala
shallow, low
vuori
mountain
Questions & Answers about Torni on matalampi kuin vuori.
How is the comparative word matalampi formed here?
The basic adjective is matala (low). To say "lower", we take the stem of the word and add the comparative suffix -mpi. Since matala ends in a vowel, we just add the suffix directly to the end: matala + -mpi = matalampi.
How do we express "than" in this comparison?
The word kuin is used to mean "than". The sentence structure is very similar to English: matalampi kuin vuori simply means "lower than the mountain".
Why is vuori in its basic dictionary form here?
When you use kuin for a comparison, the two things being compared stay in the same grammatical case. Because the first subject, torni (tower), is in the basic nominative form, the thing it is compared to, vuori (mountain), must also be in the nominative form.
Does the word matala only mean "low"?
It means "low" when talking about physical height, like a building or a ceiling. However, it is also the Finnish word for "shallow" when you are talking about water, like a shallow lake (matala järvi).
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