Word
Minä antaisin hänelle anteeksi.
Meaning
I would forgive him.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Minä antaisin hänelle anteeksi.
Why is it antaisin with an 'nt' instead of 'nn' like in the present tense annan?
The verb antaa (to give) undergoes consonant gradation (nt to nn). In the present tense, the ending -n closes the syllable, forcing the weak grade (annan). But the conditional marker -isi- keeps the syllable open (an-tai-sin), so it uses the strong grade (antaisin).
How do you say 'to forgive' here? I only see a form of the verb antaa (to give).
In Finnish, 'to forgive' is a fixed phrase: antaa anteeksi (literally 'to give as forgiveness'). So antaisin means 'I would give', and adding anteeksi makes it 'I would forgive'.
Why is 'him' translated as hänelle instead of the regular object forms hänet or häntä?
The phrase antaa anteeksi requires the person you are forgiving to be in the allative case (-lle), which translates as 'to'. You are literally giving forgiveness 'to him', so hän becomes hänelle.
What case is the word anteeksi in?
It is in the translative case, which is marked by the ending -ksi. It comes from an old noun anne (forgiveness or gift). Today, you mostly just learn anteeksi as a fixed, ready-made word used to say 'sorry' or 'forgiveness'.