Breakdown of Tuomari yrittää perustella päätöksen.
yrittää
to try
päätös
decision
tuomari
judge
perustella
to justify
Questions & Answers about Tuomari yrittää perustella päätöksen.
Why is the object päätöksen (total object) instead of päätöstä (partitive), since the judge is only trying to do it?
The object's case is linked to the infinitive verb (perustella). Because the judge's goal is to fully justify the decision, it takes the total object form ending in -n. If you were emphasizing an ongoing but perhaps unsuccessful struggle to justify it, you could use the partitive päätöstä.
Why is the second verb perustella in its basic dictionary form, rather than a form like perustelemaan?
The verb yrittää (to try) requires the following verb to be in the first infinitive (the basic dictionary form). This is a great rule to memorize, as it differs from other common verbs you have learned like oppia (to learn) or auttaa (to help), which require the -maan/-mään form.
The word perustella looks related to perustaa (to found / establish). Are they connected?
Yes! Perustella is created by adding the suffix -ella to the root of perustaa. While perustaa means to establish a physical foundation (like starting a company), perustella means to establish a logical foundation—in other words, to justify or give reasons for something.
How could I expand this sentence using the conjunction sillä (for / because) from our current lesson?