Breakdown of Kasvinsyöjät ovat usein suurempia kuin pedot.
olla
to be
usein
often
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
suuri
large, great
peto
predator
kasvinsyöjä
herbivore
Questions & Answers about Kasvinsyöjät ovat usein suurempia kuin pedot.
The word for large is suuri. Why is the comparative stem suure-?
Adjectives ending in -i change the -i to an -e- before adding the comparative ending -mpi. That's why suuri becomes suurempi instead of suurimpi. While not completely irregular, it's a common stem change you need to remember alongside the true irregulars.
Why is the comparative in the partitive plural form (suurempia) here?
In Finnish, when the subject is a plural noun (like kasvinsyöjät), the adjective describing it must usually be in the partitive plural. We take the comparative suurempi (larger) and add the partitive plural ending -a, resulting in suurempia.
Could I write this comparison without using the word kuin (than)?
Yes! In Finnish, you can drop kuin and instead put the thing being compared against into the partitive case. Since we are comparing against plural predators, pedot would become the partitive plural petoja. The sentence would then be: Kasvinsyöjät ovat usein petoja suurempia.
How is the compound word kasvinsyöjät formed?
It is made from kasvi (plant) and syöjä (eater). The first word is in the genitive case (kasvin), linking them together to mean "eater of plants". Finally, the plural marker -t makes it "plant-eaters" or herbivores.
Why does the word for predator (peto) get a "d" in pedot?
This is standard consonant gradation. Adding the plural marker -t closes the final syllable of the word. This forces the strong grade consonant -t- in peto to weaken into a -d- in pedot.
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