Breakdown of Optikko kysyi molemmilta asiakkailta linsseistä.
kysyä
to ask
asiakas
the customer
optikko
optician
molemmat
both (of them)
linssi
lens
Questions & Answers about Optikko kysyi molemmilta asiakkailta linsseistä.
Why are molemmilta and asiakkailta in the ablative (the -lta) case?
The verb kysyä (to ask) requires you to use the ablative case for the person you are asking. You are literally asking "from" someone. Because the noun for customers is in the ablative case, the pronoun molemmat (both) must match it and also take the -lta ending.
How is the form molemmilta built from the base word molemmat?
The word molemmat (both) undergoes consonant gradation similar to comparative adjectives. When adding closed case endings like the ablative, the strong -mpi- cluster weakens to -mmi-. Since the word is inherently plural, you just attach the case ending directly to this weak stem molemmi-, giving us molemmilta.
Why is linsseistä in the elative (-stä) case here?
This is another rule tied to the verb kysyä. When you state what you are asking "about", that topic must be in the elative case. So "about the lenses" becomes linsseistä.
What happens to the stem of asiakas (customer) to get asiakkailta?
Words ending in -as have a special rule where their consonants get stronger when adding most endings (inverse consonant gradation). The single k becomes a double kk. Then we add the plural marker -i- to get the plural stem asiakkai-, and finally attach the -lta ending.
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