Breakdown of Uusi sankari on synkempi kuin toinen.
olla
to be
uusi
new
toinen
other, another; second
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
sankari
the hero
synkkä
gloomy
Questions & Answers about Uusi sankari on synkempi kuin toinen.
How is the word synkempi formed from the base adjective synkkä?
There are two changes happening to the stem. First, consonant gradation weakens the double kk to a single k, giving the stem synkä-. Then, following the rule for this lesson, the final -ä changes to an -e- before adding the comparative suffix -mpi. This gives us synkempi.
Could we make this comparison without using the word kuin?
Yes! You can drop kuin (than) and instead put the word you are comparing against into the partitive case, usually placing it right before the adjective. Instead of on synkempi kuin toinen, you could say on toista synkempi. Both are perfectly natural and mean the same thing.
Why is synkempi in the nominative case instead of the partitive case (synkempää)?
In Finnish, the adjective describing the subject takes the nominative case if the subject is a singular, countable noun like sankari (hero). If the subject were an uncountable mass noun, the comparative adjective would take the partitive case.
Does toinen mean "second" or "the other" in this sentence?
Here it means "the other". Toinen serves double duty in Finnish: it is the ordinal number for "second", but it also frequently functions as a pronoun meaning "another" or "the other". You have to rely on context to tell you which meaning is intended.
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