Breakdown of Vainaja jätti oudon testamentin.
jättää
to leave (something behind)
outo
strange
testamentti
will (legal document)
vainaja
deceased
Questions & Answers about Vainaja jätti oudon testamentin.
Since this lesson is about kenen, how would I ask 'Whose will did the deceased leave?'
You would ask Kenen testamentin vainaja jätti? The interrogative pronoun kenen (whose) is the genitive form of kuka (who). Notice that the object testamentin keeps its -n ending in the question, just as it does in the statement.
Why are the words for 'strange will' written as oudon testamentin instead of outo testamentti?
They are acting as the total object of the sentence. Because the action of leaving the will is a completed event, the singular object takes the accusative case, which looks identical to the genitive case (adding an -n). Both the adjective and the noun must match this case.
Why does outo change to oudon?
This is due to consonant gradation. When the -n ending is added, it closes the final syllable of the base word outo. This causes the strong consonant -t- to weaken to -d-, resulting in oudon.
How exactly is vainaja used? Can it be used with a person's name?
Yes! Aside from being a standalone noun for 'the deceased', it is frequently used similarly to 'the late' in English. In Finnish, it is placed after a person's name, usually connected with a hyphen, such as Matti-vainaja (the late Matti).
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