Questions & Answers about Olemme syöneet lihatonta ruokaa koko viikon.
How is the word lihatonta formed?
It comes from the noun liha (meat) plus the suffix -ton, which means "without" or "-less", making lihaton (meatless). Because it describes ruokaa (food), which is in the partitive case, the adjective must match it. The partitive form of -ton words ends in -tonta, making it lihatonta.
Why do we use the partitive case for ruokaa here?
The verb syödä (to eat) often takes a partitive object. We use it here because ruoka (food) is an uncountable mass noun, and the sentence refers to an unspecified amount of it.
Why is the verb olemme syöneet in two parts?
This is the present perfect tense, meaning "we have eaten." It is built with the helper verb olla (to be) conjugated as olemme (we are), plus the plural past participle of syödä (to eat), which is syöneet.
Why does koko viikon end in -n?
Time expressions that answer "for how long?" usually take the genitive-like accusative case, ending in -n. Notice that the word koko (whole) is a special adjective that never changes its ending, so only viikko becomes viikon.