Questions & Answers about Korjaan oven vasaralla.
Why does the word for hammer, vasara, have the ending -lla here?
The -lla ending is the Adessive case. While you might already know it means 'on' (like pöydällä - on the table), it is also used to express the tool or instrument used to do something. So vasaralla translates to 'by means of a hammer' or 'with a hammer'.
Could I say vasaran kanssa to mean 'with a hammer'?
No, and this is a common trap for English speakers! The word kanssa means 'with' in the sense of company or accompaniment (e.g., being with a friend). When you are using an object as a tool to complete an action, you must use the -lla/-llä ending instead.
What is the dictionary form of korjaan, and why does it change so much?
The dictionary form is korjata (to fix). It is a Type 4 verb. To conjugate it, you drop the final -ta to get the stem (korja-), double the final vowel (korjaa-), and then add your personal ending, which is -n for 'I' (korjaan).
Why is the door oven instead of the basic form ovi or the partitive ovea?
Oven is the total object form, which looks exactly like the genitive case with its -n ending. We use this form because fixing the door is seen as a complete action that you intend to finish. If you were only fixing a part of the door, or if it was an ongoing process, you would use the partitive case (ovea).
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