Breakdown of Haluatko raidan tähän? Kyllä, laita siihen raita.
tämä
this
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
haluta
to want
kyllä
yes
laittaa
to put
raita
the highlight
Questions & Answers about Haluatko raidan tähän? Kyllä, laita siihen raita.
The translation says 'in this' and 'in it'. Why do we use tähän and siihen instead of tässä and siinä?
Finnish pays close attention to movement and direction. When you put or add something to a place, the action moves towards or into it. Therefore, we use the illative ('into') forms of the demonstrative pronouns: tähän (into this) and siihen (into it).
Why is the object raidan in the first sentence but raita in the second?
This is a very important rule for objects! In the first sentence, the object takes the normal -n ending (raidan). However, the second sentence is a command using the imperative verb laita. When the verb is a command, the object drops the -n and takes the basic nominative form (raita).
Where does the 'd' in raidan come from?
This is consonant gradation. The basic word is raita (stripe or highlight). When we add the -n ending, the syllable becomes closed, which triggers consonant gradation. The strong t softens into a weak d, giving us raidan.
How do we get the command form laita?
You make a singular command by taking the 'I' form of the verb and dropping the -n. The verb is laittaa (to put). 'I put' is laitan, so removing the -n leaves us with the command laita.
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