Questions & Answers about Poika etsi tussia kontaten.
How do we form the "-en" ending in kontaten?
The base verb is kontata (Verb Type 4, to crawl). To form the second infinitive instructive, you take the dictionary form, change the final -a to -e, and add -n to get kontaten. Notice that it keeps the weak single t from the dictionary form, rather than taking the strong double tt seen in the present tense (hän konttaa).
Why is the object tussia in the partitive case?
How do we know etsi is in the past tense here?
The verb etsiä has a stem ending in -i. In the present tense, the third-person form gets a doubled vowel: hän etsii (he searches). In the past tense, the past marker -i merges with the stem's -i, resulting in a single vowel: hän etsi (he searched).
If a dictionary also translates "to crawl" as ryömiä, could I use ryömien here?
Yes, but the physical image changes! Kontata specifically means crawling on your hands and knees. If you use ryömien, it means the boy was slithering or dragging himself along the floor on his belly.