Breakdown of Äitiysloma loppuu kuukauden kuluttua, mutta lapsi aikuistuu nopeasti.
mutta
but
nopeasti
fast
lapsi
child
loppua
to end
kuukausi
month
kuluttua
after, in (time)
äitiysloma
maternity leave
aikuistua
to grow up
Questions & Answers about Äitiysloma loppuu kuukauden kuluttua, mutta lapsi aikuistuu nopeasti.
Why is kuukauden in the genitive case before kuluttua?
The word kuluttua is a postposition that means "in" or "after" a certain amount of time. Like most Finnish postpositions, it requires the word before it to be in the genitive case. Therefore, kuukausi (a month) changes to its genitive form, kuukauden.
Could I use päästä instead of kuluttua in this sentence?
Yes, absolutely! You can say kuukauden päästä instead of kuukauden kuluttua. Both mean "in a month" or "after a month has passed", and both require the genitive case. Päästä is often more common in spoken Finnish, while kuluttua can sound slightly more formal, but they are fully interchangeable here.
The verb aikuistua (to grow up) looks a lot like aikuinen (adult). Are they related?
Yes, they are closely related. Aikuistua is formed from the word aikuinen. In Finnish, adding the suffix -tua or -tyä to an adjective or noun often creates a verb meaning "to become [that thing]". So, aikuistua literally means "to become an adult".
Why does the sentence use loppuu for "ends" rather than lopettaa?
In Finnish, loppua is an intransitive verb, meaning something ends on its own without a direct object. Here, the maternity leave simply ends (äitiysloma loppuu). If a person actively stops doing something, you use the transitive verb lopettaa, such as in äiti lopettaa työt (the mother stops working).
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