Word
Minä puhun englantia.
Meaning
I speak English.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
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Questions & Answers about Minä puhun englantia.
Why does the word for English have an "a" at the end (englantia)?
The base word for the English language is englanti. When you use the verb puhua (to speak), the language being spoken must be in the partitive case. For englanti, you simply add an -a to the end to get englantia.
Could I say puhun englannista since this lesson is about the -sta ending?
If you add the elative ending -sta to make englannista, the meaning changes completely! The word Englanti means both the English language and the country England. Minä puhun englannista means "I am talking about England". To say you speak the language, you must use the partitive case (englantia).
Do I always have to use the pronoun minä here?
No, you can just say puhun englantia. The -n ending on the verb puhun already tells the listener that "I" am the one speaking. Including minä is grammatically correct but usually just adds a little emphasis.
How is the verb puhun formed from its dictionary form?
The dictionary form is puhua (to speak). To say "I speak", you drop the final -a to find the stem (puhu-), and then add the personal ending for "I", which is always -n.