Breakdown of Te yllätätte itsenne usein.
te
you (plural/formal)
usein
often
itse
self, oneself
yllättää
to surprise
Questions & Answers about Te yllätätte itsenne usein.
How do we get the word itsenne for 'yourselves'?
It is made of the reflexive pronoun itse (self) plus the 2nd person plural possessive suffix -nne (your). When a total object has a possessive suffix, the normal object case endings (like the -n of the genitive) are dropped, so -nne attaches directly to the basic stem itse.
The dictionary form of the verb is yllättää (with two T's in the middle). Why does yllätätte have a single T in the middle, but a double T at the end?
This is a Type 1 verb, which undergoes consonant gradation. The strong grade tt in yllättää weakens to a single t in the stem yllätä- for the 'you plural' form. The double T at the end simply comes from the 2nd person plural verb ending itself: -tte.
How would this sentence change if I were speaking to just one person?
It would become (Sinä) yllätät itsesi usein. The verb changes to the 2nd person singular form yllätät, and the pronoun itse takes the singular 'your' suffix -si to become itsesi.
Is the pronoun Te strictly necessary here?
No, you could just say Yllätätte itsenne usein. In Finnish, 1st and 2nd person pronouns (like minä, sinä, me, and te) can usually be dropped because the verb ending already tells you who is doing the action.
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