Breakdown of Hän ei ollut vahvistanut varausta.
olla
to be
hän
he / she
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
vahvistaa
to confirm
varaus
the reservation
Questions & Answers about Hän ei ollut vahvistanut varausta.
How do we build the pluperfect negative in ei ollut vahvistanut?
It is built using three parts: the negative verb (ei), the active past participle of olla (ollut), and the active past participle of the main verb (vahvistanut).
Why is the object varausta in the partitive case here instead of the accusative?
The partitive is used because the sentence is negative. In Finnish, if the main action is negated, the object must almost always be in the partitive case. The base word is varaus.
If the subject was plural, how would the verb phrase ei ollut vahvistanut change?
It would become eivät olleet vahvistaneet. You must change the negative verb to the plural eivät, and crucially, both of the past participles must also take their plural forms (olleet and vahvistaneet).
What is the base form of vahvistanut, and how is it built from a simpler word?
The infinitive is vahvistaa (to confirm or to strengthen). You might recognize that it is derived from the common adjective vahva (strong).
Learn Hän ei ollut vahvistanut varausta 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