Breakdown of Lasku suureni, mutta palkka ei pienennyt.
mutta
but
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
lasku
bill
palkka
salary
suureta
to get larger
pienetä
to get smaller
Questions & Answers about Lasku suureni, mutta palkka ei pienennyt.
How does the verb suureni (got larger) form its past tense?
The infinitive is suureta, a Type 6 verb. To conjugate it, you first build the strong stem by replacing -ta with -ne-, giving suurene-. Because the past tense marker is -i, it replaces the final -e, making the past stem suureni-. Finally, because it is a third-person singular (it) subject, no personal ending is added.
Why does the negative past verb ei pienennyt have a double 'n' and end in -nyt?
The negative past tense always requires the past participle (the -nut or -nyt form) alongside the negative verb. For a Type 6 verb like pienetä, you attach this ending to the short consonant stem (pienet-). When you combine pienet- and -nyt, the t and the n assimilate (blend together) into a double nn, resulting in pienennyt.
Are the verbs suureta and pienetä related to the adjectives suuri and pieni?
Yes, this is very common in Finnish! Type 6 verbs are frequently used to express a change in state, essentially turning an adjective into a verb of change. Suuri (large) becomes suureta (to get larger), and pieni (small) becomes pienetä (to get smaller).
Could I just say 'Lasku oli suurempi' instead of 'Lasku suureni'?
You could, but they mean slightly different things. Lasku oli suurempi means 'the bill was larger' (perhaps compared to another bill), describing a static state. Lasku suureni emphasizes the active process of change, meaning the bill grew or increased.
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