Breakdown of Kummassakaan profiilissa ei ollut kuvaa.
olla
to be
kuva
picture
ei
no / not (negative verb)
kumpikaan
neither one
profiili
profile
Questions & Answers about Kummassakaan profiilissa ei ollut kuvaa.
How do we get the form kummassakaan from the base word kumpikaan (neither)?
Because it describes the profile, it must match the inessive case of profiilissa. The stem of kumpikaan is kumpa-. Consonant gradation changes the 'mp' to 'mm' (kumma-), then we add the inessive ending -ssa, and finally the clitic -kaan goes at the very end to form kummassakaan.
Why does this sentence use the inessive case (kummassakaan profiilissa) instead of the adessive case (kummallakaan profiililla) to say 'Neither profile had'?
In Finnish, the 'to have' construction usually uses the adessive ending -lla/-llä for people or animals. However, for inanimate things like a profile, a room, or a book, Finnish uses the inessive ending -ssa/-ssä to indicate that it 'contains' a feature. Literally, it translates closer to 'In neither profile was a photo.'
Why is the verb ei ollut singular when there are two profiles involved?
In Finnish 'to have' sentences (possessive structures), the verb olla is always in the third-person singular, regardless of how many owners or items there are. Here, ei ollut is the negative past tense, meaning 'did not have' (literally 'was not').
Why is the word for photo (kuva) in the partitive case (kuvaa)?
In negative 'to have' sentences, the thing that is possessed (or in this case, not possessed) must always be in the partitive case. Because the photo is absent, kuva becomes kuvaa.
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