Breakdown of Hän odotti pimeässä varjostaakseen kohdetta ja vakoillakseen heitä.
hän
he / she
ja
and
he
they
odottaa
to wait
pimeä
dark
varjostaa
to tail
kohde
target
vakoilla
to spy
Questions & Answers about Hän odotti pimeässä varjostaakseen kohdetta ja vakoillakseen heitä.
How do varjostaakseen and vakoillakseen translate to 'to tail' and 'to spy'?
These words use the structure you are currently learning: the first infinitive (dictionary form) + -kse- (translative case marker) + a possessive suffix (here -en for the third person). This structure expresses purpose and translates to 'in order to [do something]'. So, varjostaakseen literally means 'in order for him to tail'.
For vakoillakseen, why is the ending attached to vakoilla instead of the verb stem vakoile-?
The 'in order to' structure always attaches to the first infinitive (the dictionary form of the verb), not the conjugated stem. Because vakoilla (to spy) is a Type 3 verb, you simply take the dictionary form and add -kseen directly to the end.
Why are the objects kohdetta and heitä in the partitive case?
Both varjostaa (to shadow/tail) and vakoilla (to spy) are partitive verbs. Because tailing and spying are continuous, ongoing actions without a clear end point, their objects must be in the partitive case.
Can we use the adjective pimeä (dark) as a noun like in English?
Yes! Just like in English where we say 'in the dark', Finnish often uses adjectives describing environmental conditions as nouns. Here it takes the inessive case ending -ssä to become pimeässä (in the dark).
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