Breakdown of Rumpu kuulostaa paremmalta, kun kaiku tulee kauempaa.
tulla
to come
kun
when (conjunction)
kaukana
far away
kuulostaa
to sound
parempi
better
rumpu
drum
kaiku
reverb
Questions & Answers about Rumpu kuulostaa paremmalta, kun kaiku tulee kauempaa.
Why is paremmalta in the ablative case ending in -lta instead of just being parempi?
The verb kuulostaa (to sound) is a verb of perception. In Finnish, verbs describing how something looks, sounds, feels, or tastes require the following adjective to be in the ablative case (-lta or -ltä). So "sounds good" is kuulostaa hyvältä, and "sounds better" is kuulostaa paremmalta.
How do we get the stem paremma- to make paremmalta?
The base word is hyvä (good), which has the irregular comparative form parempi (better). When we add a case ending like the ablative -lta, the comparative ending -mpi changes to the weak grade stem -mma-. This turns parempi into the stem paremma-, giving us paremmalta.
How does the word kauempaa work to mean "from further away"?
It is the comparative form of the adverb kaukaa (from far away). For comparative adverbs of location showing movement away from a place (the "from" direction), we use the strong comparative stem -mpa- and add a partitive -a. This gives us kauempaa, meaning "from further away".
The word kaiku is translated as "reverb" here. What is its usual meaning?
In everyday Finnish, kaiku translates simply as "echo". However, in audio, acoustics, and music contexts, it is the standard word used for "reverb" (reverberation) as well.
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