Breakdown of Ilman tulitikkuja emme olisi selviytyneet pakkasessa.
olla
to be
ei
no / not (negative verb)
ilman
without
selviytyä
to survive
pakkanen
the subzero temperature
tulitikku
the match
Questions & Answers about Ilman tulitikkuja emme olisi selviytyneet pakkasessa.
How is the conditional perfect negative formed in emme olisi selviytyneet?
It is built with three parts: the personal negative verb (emme), the conditional auxiliary verb which stays in the fixed form olisi for all persons, and the past active participle of the main verb (selviytyneet). Notice that the main verb is plural because the hidden subject (we) is plural.
Why is the auxiliary verb olisi instead of olisimme?
In negative conditional sentences, the auxiliary verb olla does not take personal endings. Because the personal ending is already attached to the negative verb (emme), the auxiliary simply stays in the base conditional form olisi.
Why does the main verb end in -neet instead of -nyt?
In perfect and past tense structures, the main verb's participle must match the number of the subject. Since the subject is plural (we), the singular past participle selviytynyt becomes the plural selviytyneet.
Why is the word for matches (tulitikkuja) in the partitive case?
The preposition ilman (without) always requires the word following it to be in the partitive case. Here, the base word tulitikku (match) becomes the plural partitive tulitikkuja (matches).
What is the base form of pakkasessa, and why does it change so much?
The nominative base form is pakkanen (subzero temperature or frost). Finnish words ending in -nen change that ending to -se- before you can attach most case endings, like the inessive ending -ssa (in) to make pakkasessa.
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