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?
It translates to "forward" and is built by combining eteen (into the front) and the direction word päin (towards). You will often see päin attached to other words to indicate movement in a general direction, such as alaspäin (downwards) or taaksepäin (backwards).
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