Breakdown of Heräsin, koska vaimoni ei lakannut kuorsaamasta.
koska
because
ei
no / not (negative verb)
vaimo
wife
herätä
to wake up
Questions & Answers about Heräsin, koska vaimoni ei lakannut kuorsaamasta.
Why is "snoring" translated as kuorsaamasta instead of the basic verb form kuorsata?
This is because of the verb lakata (to stop/cease). In Finnish, verbs of stopping or preventing require the next verb to be in the 3rd infinitive elative form, which ends in -masta or -mästä. You can think of it as "did not stop from snoring".
How do we build the form kuorsaamasta from the dictionary verb?
The base verb is kuorsata (a type 4 verb). To make the 3rd infinitive, take the third-person singular stem (hän kuorsaa) and attach the elative ending -masta, giving you kuorsaamasta.
Why is the word for "stopped" written as lakannut here?
Because it is in the negative past tense ("did not stop"). In Finnish, the negative past uses the negative verb (ei) followed by the past participle. For type 4 verbs like lakata, you form the past participle by changing the final -ta into -nnut.
Could I use the verb herättää instead of herätä here?
No, because they describe different actions. Herätä means "to wake up" on your own. Herättää means "to wake someone else up". If you said herätin, it would mean that you woke your wife up!
Why is it just and not ?