Breakdown of Ei edes ammattilainen kykene tähän fyysiseen tehtävään.
tämä
this
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
tehtävä
task
ammattilainen
professional
edes
even
kyetä
to be able to
fyysinen
physical
Questions & Answers about Ei edes ammattilainen kykene tähän fyysiseen tehtävään.
Why do we use ei edes here instead of jopa to mean "even"?
In Finnish, jopa is only used in affirmative (positive) sentences. When you want to say "not even" in a negative sentence, you must use the negative verb plus edes. Since the sentence is negative and the subject is in the third person singular, ei edes is the correct choice.
How does the negation affect the verb kykene?
Kykene is the connegative form of the verb kyetä (to be able to). In Finnish, the negative word (ei) takes the person ending, and the main verb drops it. So, instead of the affirmative kykenee (is able), we have ei ... kykene (is not able).
Why are the words tähän fyysiseen tehtävään in the illative case (ending in -Vn)?
This is because of the verb kyetä (to be able to / to be capable of). This verb requires the target of the capability to be in the illative case (the "into" case). While in English you are capable "of" a task, in Finnish you are capable "into" it (tehtävään). The modifiers tämä (this) and fyysinen (physical) must match this case, becoming tähän and fyysiseen.
Can I change the word order and say Ammattilainen ei edes kykene...?
Yes, but it changes the meaning! A focus adverb like edes is placed right in front of the word it emphasizes. Ei edes ammattilainen kykene means "Not even a professional is able" (emphasizing the person). If you say Ammattilainen ei edes kykene, it shifts the focus to the verb, meaning "The professional is not even able".
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