Breakdown of Näen lentoemännän sulkevan matkustamon ovet.
ovi
door
nähdä
to see
sulkea
to close
lentoemäntä
flight attendant
matkustamo
cabin (in a vehicle)
Questions & Answers about Näen lentoemännän sulkevan matkustamon ovet.
How does this sentence translate to 'I see that...' without using the word 'että' (that)?
This is the referative construction in action. Instead of a secondary clause like Näen, että lentoemäntä sulkee... (I see that the flight attendant closes...), Finnish compresses it. The subject of the action (lentoemäntä) goes into the genitive case (lentoemännän) and the verb takes the -van participle ending (sulkevan).
Why is the flight attendant (lentoemännän) in the genitive case here?
In the referative construction, the person or thing doing the action is always put into the genitive case. Since the flight attendant is the one closing the doors, lentoemäntä becomes lentoemännän.
How is the participle form 'sulkevan' built from the basic verb 'sulkea' (to close)?
You take the strong verb stem (sulke-), add the present active participle marker (-va), and then attach the genitive ending (-n) required by this construction. This gives you sulkevan.
Why is 'ovet' (the doors) in the basic plural form instead of the partitive case?
Even inside this special construction, normal object rules apply. Closing a door is considered a complete action, so it takes a total object. For plural words, the total object form is the standard nominative plural (ovet).
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