Breakdown of Löydät sanan merkityksen katsomalla sanakirjasta.
sana
word
katsoa
to watch
löytää
to find
merkitys
the meaning
sanakirja
the dictionary
Questions & Answers about Löydät sanan merkityksen katsomalla sanakirjasta.
How does the ending -malla in katsomalla translate to 'by looking'?
The -malla ending is the adessive form of the third infinitive. It is used to express how or by what means an action is done. Here, you achieve the result (finding) by means of looking (katsoa -> katsoma- + -lla). In English, this naturally translates to 'by doing' something.
Why does Finnish use the elative case in sanakirjasta ('from the dictionary') when English says 'in the dictionary'?
In Finnish, you are retrieving information out of the book. Verbs related to finding, searching, or looking for information (like etsiä, löytää, and in this context katsoa) frequently take the elative (-sta/-stä) case because the information is conceptually moving away from the source to your eyes.
Why is the object merkityksen in the genitive-looking accusative case?
Because it is the total object of the sentence. You are finding the entire meaning, and the main verb (löydät) is a standard active verb. When you complete an action on a whole singular object, it takes this -n ending.
How do we get the noun merkitys?
The base form is the noun merkitys (meaning, significance), which is derived from the verb merkitä (to mean, to mark). The -ys suffix is often used in Finnish to turn a verb into an abstract noun.
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