Breakdown of Älä uhraa lähettiä vielä!
vielä
yet / still
älä
don't (negative imperative)
lähetti
bishop
uhrata
to sacrifice
Questions & Answers about Älä uhraa lähettiä vielä!
Why is lähettiä in the partitive case instead of the accusative?
Because the sentence is a negative command. In Finnish, whenever the main verb is negative (like the 'don't' in älä uhraa), the object of that verb must always be in the partitive case.
How is the negative command älä uhraa formed?
You start with älä, which is the singular 'you' imperative form of 'don't'. Then you add the main verb in its connegative form, uhraa. For a type 4 verb like uhrata (to sacrifice), you get this form simply by dropping the final -ta from the dictionary form.
The translation says 'bishop', but doesn't lähetti usually refer to a person?
Yes, in everyday language a lähetti is a messenger, courier, or delivery person. However, it is also the standard Finnish word for the 'bishop' piece in the game of chess.