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Questions & Answers about Annan kukan soittajalle.
How do we get the word soittaja from the verb soittaa?
To make an actor noun (a word for someone who does the action), you take the strong vowel stem of the verb and add the suffix -ja (or -jä depending on vowel harmony). For soittaa (to play), the stem is soitta-, making soittaja (musician or player).
Could soittajalle mean I am giving a flower to a football player?
No. The verb soittaa specifically means to play an instrument or to make a phone call. Therefore, a soittaja is a musician. A sports player or gamer would be pelaaja, derived from the verb pelata (to play a game).
Why does soittaja have the ending -lle here?
The suffix -lle is the allative case, which translates to to or onto. The verb antaa (to give) requires the recipient to be in the allative case.
Why is it kukan and not just the basic dictionary form kukka?
Kukka is the direct object of the sentence. Because you are giving one whole flower, it takes the genitive-like accusative ending -n. Adding this ending triggers consonant gradation, shrinking the double kk down to a single k.