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Questions & Answers about Kävelkää eteenpäin!
How do we form kävelkää from the dictionary verb kävellä?
kävellä (to walk) is a Type 3 verb. To make the plural or formal command, you take the dictionary form, drop the final -lä to get the consonant stem (kävel-), and then attach the imperative ending -kää.
Why does this verb take the ending -kää instead of -kaa?
This is because of vowel harmony. The verb stem kävel- contains the front vowel ä and the neutral vowel e. Because there is an ä in the stem, the suffix must also use front vowels, making it -kää rather than -kaa.
When would I use kävelkää instead of the singular command kävele?
You use the -kää ending when you are giving a command to two or more people, or when you are speaking formally to one person (like a customer or a stranger). If you were telling just one friend to walk forward, you would use the singular informal form: kävele eteenpäin!
How is the direction word eteenpäin built?