Breakdown of Hyvät luokkakaverit kannustavat aina toisiaan.
hyvä
good
aina
always
toisiaan
each other (also toisiamme, toisianne)
luokkakaveri
classmate
kannustaa
to encourage
Questions & Answers about Hyvät luokkakaverit kannustavat aina toisiaan.
How is the word toisiaan (each other) built in this sentence?
It comes from the pronoun toinen. To say "each other", Finnish uses toinen in the plural, followed by a possessive suffix. Here, we use the partitive plural root toisia- and add the third-person suffix -an (because the subject is "they").
Why does toisiaan use the partitive case here?
The case of "each other" depends on the verb it is paired with. The verb kannustaa (to encourage) is a partitive verb, meaning its object must be in the partitive case. That is why we must use the partitive plural toisia- as our base before adding the suffix.
Would toisiaan change if the subject was "we" instead of "the classmates"?
Yes! The possessive suffix at the end of "each other" always has to match the subject. Because "classmates" acts as a "they" subject, it uses the third-person suffix -an. If the sentence were "We always encourage each other", the ending would match "we" (-mme): Me kannustamme aina toisiamme.
Why is it hyvät instead of just hyvä?
In Finnish, adjectives have to match the noun they are describing. Because luokkakaverit (classmates) is in the nominative plural, the adjective hyvä (good) also needs to take the plural marker -t, becoming hyvät.
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