Breakdown of Eipä hän paljasta salaisuutta!
hän
he / she
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
salaisuus
secret
paljastaa
to reveal
Questions & Answers about Eipä hän paljasta salaisuutta!
Why is the clitic -pä attached to the negative verb ei instead of the main verb?
The emphatic clitic -pa/-pä always attaches to the very first word of the clause. Since negative sentences start with the negative verb (here, ei), it receives the clitic to form eipä (she sure doesn't / indeed she doesn't).
Why does the clitic use an ä (-pä) instead of an a (-pa)?
This is due to vowel harmony. The word ei only contains neutral vowels (e and i). Words with only neutral vowels take front-vowel endings, so we must use -pä.
Why is the main verb paljasta instead of the dictionary form paljastaa?
Because this is a negative sentence, the main verb must be in the connegative form. For the verb paljastaa (to reveal), you take the 'I' form (paljastan) and drop the -n, leaving just paljasta.
Why is the word for secret, salaisuus, in the partitive case (salaisuutta)?
In Finnish, the object of a negative sentence must always be in the partitive case. Since the action of revealing is not happening, the object takes the partitive form salaisuutta.
Learn Eipä hän paljasta salaisuutta and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free