Breakdown of Älä unohda kirjastokorttiasi kotiin.
koti
the home
unohtaa
to forget
älä
don't (negative imperative)
kirjastokortti
the library card
Questions & Answers about Älä unohda kirjastokorttiasi kotiin.
How is the negative command älä unohda formed here?
The word älä means 'do not' when speaking to one person. It is followed by the connegative stem of the verb. For unohtaa (to forget), you find this stem by dropping the -n from the 'I' form (minä unohdan). Notice the consonant gradation: the strong ht in the basic verb becomes a weak hd in both unohdan and unohda.
Why does this sentence use the partitive case for the library card?
In Finnish, the object of a negative sentence is almost always in the partitive case. Even though a positive command would often use the basic form, the negative command älä unohda requires the partitive.
How do the endings on kirjastokorttiasi work?
It starts with the compound word kirjastokortti (library card). First we add the partitive ending -a to make kirjastokorttia (because it is the object of a negative sentence). Finally, the possessive suffix -si (your) is attached to the very end.
The English translation says 'at home', so why is kotiin in the illative ('into') case instead of kotona?
This is a classic difference in how Finns and English speakers view actions! In Finnish, forgetting or leaving something somewhere is seen as a movement into that place. Because you are leaving the card 'to' your home, Finnish uses the directional illative case kotiin instead of the static location case kotona.
Learn Älä unohda kirjastokorttiasi kotiin and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free