Breakdown of Älä sotke tätä kirjaa!
tämä
this
kirja
book
älä
don't (negative imperative)
sotkea
to make dirty
Questions & Answers about Älä sotke tätä kirjaa!
How do we get the form sotke from the basic verb?
The basic verb is sotkea (to mess up). After älä (don't), we use the connegative stem. For type 1 verbs like sotkea, you find this stem by taking the "I" form (minä sotken) and dropping the -n. This leaves us with sotke.
Why are tätä and kirjaa in the partitive case?
In Finnish, the object of a negative sentence must always be in the partitive case. Because älä makes this a negative command, the object "this book" becomes the partitive tätä kirjaa. In a positive command, it would be Sotke tämä kirja!
How do you form the partitive of the word tämä (this)?
The partitive of tämä is a bit irregular. Instead of just adding a standard ending, the whole word changes to tätä. Remember that adjectives and pronouns must match the case of the noun they describe, so tätä matches the partitive kirjaa.
Learn Älä sotke tätä kirjaa 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