Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Älä hermostu kokeesta!
Why is kokeesta in the elative case (-sta) when the English translation says "about"?
This ties into the current lesson's theme! In Finnish, verbs that describe an emotional reaction—like hermostua (to get nervous)—usually require the cause of the emotion to be in the elative case (-sta / -stä). You can think of the emotion as growing "out of" the exam.
What is the base form of kokeesta and why does it look so different here?
The base form is koe (exam). Old Finnish words that end in -e in their dictionary form add an extra -e- to make the stem before you attach most case endings. So, koe turns into the stem kokee-, and then you add the elative ending -sta to get kokeesta.
Does hermostua mean "to be nervous" or "to get nervous"?
It specifically means "to get nervous". Verbs ending in -tua or -tyä often describe an automatic change of state, meaning you are becoming something. If you wanted to describe the continuous state of simply being nervous, you would use the verb olla (to be) alongside an adjective: Älä ole hermostunut (Don't be nervous).
Why is the verb just hermostu without a personal ending like hermostut?