Breakdown of Lähtikö ministeri neuvonantajineen ja tulkkeineen?
ja
and
lähteä
to leave
ministeri
minister
tulkki
interpreter
Questions & Answers about Lähtikö ministeri neuvonantajineen ja tulkkeineen?
How are neuvonantajineen and tulkkeineen formed?
They use the comitative case, which expresses doing something 'together with' someone or something. It is formed by taking the plural stem of the noun, adding the comitative marker -ine-, and then adding a possessive suffix. Here, the third-person suffix -en (his/her) is added, creating the ending -ineen.
Do I always have to include a possessive suffix like -en when using the comitative case?
Yes! A unique rule of the comitative case is that it must always take a possessive suffix when attached to a noun, even if you are just trying to say 'with the advisors' rather than 'with his advisors'.
The English translation says 'advisors' and 'interpreters'. Does the comitative case only work for plurals?
Grammatically, the comitative case is always built on the plural stem of the word. In meaning, it can refer to either a single companion or multiple companions depending on the context, but the Finnish word will always look plural.
Why does tulkkeineen keep the double kk from tulkki? Doesn't the plural stem usually drop a k?
The comitative case always uses the strong grade of the consonant stem. So, even though it is built on the plural stem, tulkki keeps its strong double kk before the ending, unlike the regular nominative plural which is weak (tulkit).