Breakdown of Kitara on lähempänä mikrofonia kuin rumpu.
olla
to be
kuin
than / like / as (also in "before …")
lähellä
near
mikrofoni
microphone
Questions & Answers about Kitara on lähempänä mikrofonia kuin rumpu.
How is lähempänä formed from the basic word for "near"?
The basic word for "near" or "close" is lähellä. Its base root is lähe-. To say "closer" in a static location, we add the comparative marker -mpä- and the essive case ending -nä, resulting in lähempänä.
Why does lähempänä use the strong -mpä- stem instead of the weak -mmä- stem?
Consonant gradation applies to the comparative suffix itself. The strong grade (-mpä-) is used here because the essive ending -nä doesn't close the syllable (pä-nä are both open syllables). If the ending closed the syllable, such as the translative ending -ksi, the stem would weaken to -mmä- (like in lähemmäksi, meaning "to a closer position").
Why is the word for microphone in the partitive case (mikrofonia)?
Words that describe proximity, such as lähellä (near) and its comparative form lähempänä (closer), require the noun they refer to to be in the partitive case.
Could I drop kuin and just put the drum in the partitive case to mean "than the drum"?
While you can often drop kuin and use the partitive case for comparisons, it is avoided here for clarity. Because mikrofonia is already in the partitive, adding a second partitive word (rumpua) would make it hard to tell who is closer to what. Using kuin rumpu (nominative) makes it immediately clear that the guitar and the drum are the two subjects being compared.