Questions & Answers about Merimiehen henki on vahva.
Why does merimies (sailor) change to merimiehen here?
Merimiehen is the genitive (possessive) form, meaning "the sailor's". The word is a compound of meri (sea) and mies (man). The word mies is a unique word in Finnish: its stem changes to miehe- before you add endings like the genitive -n.
This lesson is about the perfect tense. How would you change this sentence to say "The sailor's spirit has been strong"?
To form the perfect tense, you use the helper verb on plus the past participle of your main verb. For the verb olla (to be), that participle is ollut. So the sentence becomes: Merimiehen henki on ollut vahva.
Does the word henki only mean "spirit"?
No, henki is a very versatile word! Besides "spirit", it can also mean "breath", "life", or even "person" (when counting people, like in a restaurant). In this context, it refers to the sailor's inner spirit or willpower.
Why is vahva in the basic form instead of the partitive case (vahvaa)?
In Finnish "A is B" sentences, the adjective describing the subject takes the basic form if the subject is a countable, whole thing. Since henki (spirit) is treated as a complete, individual concept here rather than an uncountable mass or substance (like water or coffee), the adjective vahva stays in its basic form.
Learn Merimiehen henki on vahva and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free