Breakdown of Nämä saappaat ovat todella kuluneita.
tämä
this
olla
to be
todella
really (very, intensifier)
saapas
boot
kulunut
worn out
Questions & Answers about Nämä saappaat ovat todella kuluneita.
Why is kuluneita in the partitive plural instead of the nominative plural?
When you use an adjective to describe a plural subject in a basic "A is B" sentence, the adjective usually goes into the partitive plural. Because the subject Nämä saappaat (These boots) is plural, the describing word must take the partitive plural form kuluneita.
Could I say Nämä saappaat ovat kuluneet instead?
You can, but it changes the grammar entirely! If you use the nominative plural kuluneet, it forms the perfect tense of the verb kulua (to wear out). It would mean "These boots have worn out" (an action that has happened). By using the partitive plural kuluneita, you are treating it as an adjective describing their current state: "These boots are worn out."
How do we build the form kuluneita from the base verb?
The base verb is kulua (to wear down). First, we form the past participle, which acts like an adjective: kulunut (worn out). To make it partitive plural, the -nut ending changes to the stem -nee-, we add the plural marker -i-, and finally the partitive ending -ta, resulting in kuluneita.
Why isn't the subject Nämä saappaat also in the partitive plural?
In Finnish, the subject of a standard "A is B" sentence is almost always in the nominative case, even when it is plural. Therefore, Nämä saappaat stays in the nominative plural. Only the describing word at the end of the sentence takes the partitive plural rule.
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