Questions & Answers about Nauttikaa tästä retkestä!
How do we form the command nauttikaa from the verb nauttia?
To make the plural or formal command for Verb Type 1, you take the dictionary form (nauttia), remove the final -a, and add the ending -kaa. Notice that it keeps the strong double consonants (-tt-) from the dictionary form, unlike the "I" form which weakens to a single -t- (nautin).
Why do we use the -stä ending on both tästä and retkestä?
The verb nauttia (to enjoy) always requires the thing you are enjoying to be in the elative case, which means adding -sta or -stä. While in English we just say "enjoy this trip", Finnish logic thinks of it as enjoying "out of" this trip. Since retki gets the -stä ending, the word for "this" (tämä) must match it, becoming tästä.
Why does the verb end in -kaa with an a, but the other words end in -stä with an ä?
This is due to vowel harmony. The verb nauttia contains the back vowels a and u, so any suffixes attached to it must use back vowels like a, giving us -kaa. The words tämä and retki only have front vowels (ä, e, i), so their endings must use the front vowel ä.
Can I use nauttikaa if I am only talking to one person?
Yes, you can. The -kaa or -kää ending is used for a group of people, meaning plural "you", but it is also used as a polite, formal command for a single person. If you were speaking informally to just one friend, you would use the singular command nauti.
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