Breakdown of Tervetuloa, ministerit! Astukaa saliin puolisoinenne.
tervetuloa
welcome
sali
hall
astua
to step
puoliso
spouse
ministeri
minister
Questions & Answers about Tervetuloa, ministerit! Astukaa saliin puolisoinenne.
How do we break down the word puolisoinenne?
This word uses the comitative case, which expresses doing something "together with" someone or something. It consists of the noun root puoliso (spouse), the comitative case marker -ine-, and the second-person plural possessive suffix -nne (your). Together, it means "with your spouses."
Why is the possessive suffix -nne required here? Could I just say puolisoine?
In standard Finnish, you cannot leave the comitative marker -ine by itself on a noun. It must always be followed by a possessive suffix. You have to specify whose companion or item it is, which is why -nne is attached here to match the ministers being addressed.
Does the comitative case form puolisoinenne tell us if it means "spouse" (singular) or "spouses" (plural)?
No, it doesn't! A tricky feature of the comitative case is that it looks exactly the same whether the core noun is singular or plural. Puolisoinenne could translate to "with your spouse" or "with your spouses." We only know it means "spouses" here from the context, because multiple ministers are being addressed.
Why is the verb astukaa used instead of astu?
Astukaa is the plural imperative (command) form of the verb astua (to step). Because the speaker is welcoming and giving an instruction to multiple people (the ministers), the plural command form is required instead of the singular command astu.
Why do we use the illative case saliin (into the hall) rather than salissa (in the hall)?
The verb astua expresses active movement from one place to another. In Finnish, verbs of movement strictly dictate the case of the location. Because the ministers are stepping into the hall, we must use the "into" case (saliin), rather than the "inside" case (salissa), which would imply they are already in the hall stepping around.
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