Breakdown of Älä työskentele myöhään, koska silmät väsyvät!
koska
because
silmä
eye
älä
don't (negative imperative)
työskennellä
to work
väsyä
to get tired of
myöhään
late
Questions & Answers about Älä työskentele myöhään, koska silmät väsyvät!
We are learning the comparative adverb ending -mmin. How would I change this sentence to say 'Do not work later'?
The word for 'late' in this sentence is the adverb myöhään. To make it comparative ('later'), you use the special stem myöhe- and add the comparative suffix -mmin, giving you myöhemmin. The new command would be: Älä työskentele myöhemmin...
Why is the verb työskentele spelled with 'nt' when the dictionary form is työskennellä?
Työskennellä (to work) is a Type 3 verb. To get the imperative (command) stem, you remove the -llä ending and add an -e. This verb also undergoes reverse consonant gradation, where the weak nn in the dictionary form becomes a strong nt in the stem, resulting in työskentele.
The subject silmät (eyes) is a non-human plural. Why does the verb väsyvät have a plural ending?
In standard written Finnish, you must use a plural verb for all plural subjects, whether they are human or not. That is why we see the plural -vät ending here. However, in everyday spoken Finnish, people usually use the singular form for non-human plurals, so you will often hear silmät väsyy instead.
Why do we use älä instead of et for 'do not' here?
Älä is the negative command form (imperative) for the word 'you' singular. You use it when telling someone not to do something. If you used et, it would just be a statement of fact, like Sinä et työskentele (You are not working).
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