Breakdown of Lääkäri peitti vasemman, heikon silmän.
lääkäri
doctor
silmä
eye
vasen
left (direction)
peittää
to cover
Questions & Answers about Lääkäri peitti vasemman, heikon silmän.
Why do vasemman, heikon, and silmän all end in -n?
They make up the direct object of the sentence. Because peitti (covered) is a completed, positive action, the object phrase takes the accusative case. For singular words, this accusative form looks exactly like the genitive case, which is why they all get the -n ending.
How do we get the form vasemman from the basic word vasen (left)?
The word vasen is a bit unique but follows a pattern you are learning right now! Its base stem is vasempa-. When we add the -n ending, it triggers consonant gradation, weakening the -mp- to -mm-. So, vasen -> vasempa- -> vasemman. This is the exact same -mpi- / -mmi- stem variation you see when inflecting molemmat (both)!
Why does heikon only have one k, when the dictionary form is heikko?
Adding the -n ending closes the final syllable of the word. This triggers standard consonant gradation, causing the strong double kk in heikko to weaken to a single k in heikon.
Why is there a comma between vasemman and heikon?