Breakdown of Suorituskyky on kehno, eikä laitteen kestävyyskään ole hyvä.
olla
to be
ja
and
hyvä
good
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
Questions & Answers about Suorituskyky on kehno, eikä laitteen kestävyyskään ole hyvä.
Why is there a -kään attached to kestävyys?
The suffix -kään (or -kaan) means "either" when used in a negative sentence. Because this clause is made negative by eikä (and not), kestävyyskään translates to "durability either". If the sentence were positive, you would use -kin (also / too).
How does eikä work here? Why not just use ja ei?
In Finnish, you generally don't say ja ei ("and not"). Instead, the conjunction ja is replaced by adding the suffix -kä to the negative verb ei. Here, eikä means "and [it] is not", which forces the main verb ole into its connegative form (the base form without a personal ending).
How is the noun kestävyys (durability) formed?
It stems from the verb kestää (to endure / to last). First, it becomes the active present participle kestävä (durable / lasting). Then, the noun-forming suffix -yys is added to turn the adjective into the noun kestävyys (durability). While this lesson focuses on passive participles (-tava), recognizing active ones (-va/-vä) helps you decode nouns like this!
What makes up the compound word suorituskyky (performance)?