Breakdown of Etelämantereella me elämme haastavimmissa olosuhteissa.
me
we
elää
to live, to be alive
Etelämanner
Antarctica
olosuhde
the condition (circumstance)
haastava
challenging
Questions & Answers about Etelämantereella me elämme haastavimmissa olosuhteissa.
How do we get from the basic adjective haastava to haastavimmissa?
The base word is haastava (challenging). The basic superlative form is haastavin (the most challenging). To add the plural inessive case -issa (in), we build on the superlative stem. The final -a of the base word drops out, and we insert the plural weak superlative marker -imm- before the case ending, resulting in haastavimmissa.
Why does the superlative stem use -mm- in haastavimmissa instead of -mp-?
The basic strong superlative stem is -impa-, which has the consonant cluster -mp-. However, adding the case ending -ssa closes the syllable. This triggers consonant gradation, causing the strong -mp- to weaken to -mm-. Because of this, we use the weak stem -imma- here.
What is the base form of Etelämantereella, and why does the word change so much?
The base form is Etelämanner (Antarctica, literally South Continent). The word manner (continent) has the stem manteree- when endings are added. We attach the adessive ending -lla (on) because large landmasses or open areas in Finnish often use external locative cases.
What is the base form of olosuhteissa, and how is the plural formed here?
The base noun is olosuhde (condition or circumstance). Because it ends in -e, its stem becomes olosuhtee- when endings are added. When we attach the plural inessive ending -issa (in), the second -e- in the stem drops out to make room for the plural -i-, giving us olosuhteissa.
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