Breakdown of Tämäpä on vuoden suurin skandaali!
tämä
this
olla
to be
vuosi
year
suuri
large, great
skandaali
the scandal
Questions & Answers about Tämäpä on vuoden suurin skandaali!
Why does Tämä have the suffix -pä attached to it, and why isn't it -pa?
The suffix -pä is an emphatic clitic that adds a tone of surprise, realization, or emphasis, similar to saying "indeed" or "wow" in English. It takes the form -pä instead of -pa because of vowel harmony. Since the word tämä only contains front vowels (ä), the clitic must also use a front vowel.
Would the sentence still make sense if I just said Tämä on vuoden suurin skandaali?
Yes, absolutely! Without the clitic, the sentence simply means "This is the biggest scandal of the year." It is a perfectly normal, factual statement. Adding -pä just injects emotion, turning a neutral statement into a lively exclamation.
Why is the word for "year" (vuosi) written here as vuoden?
Vuoden is the genitive (possessive) form of vuosi. In Finnish, you express "the biggest scandal of the year" by saying "the year's biggest scandal" (vuoden suurin skandaali). As a quick refresher, notice how the core word changes from ending in -si to a stem with -te-, which then weakens to -de- due to consonant gradation when the genitive -n is added.
How do we get the superlative form suurin (biggest) from the adjective suuri (big)?
To form the superlative (the "-est" form), you take the inflectional stem of the adjective and add the suffix -in. The stem for suuri is suure-, but the final -e drops away when the -i of the superlative suffix is added, resulting in suurin.
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