Log inSign up

Minulla ei ole muistilappua, joten minua kauhistuttaa mennä lavalle.

Minulla ei ole muistilappua, joten minua kauhistuttaa mennä lavalle.
I do not have a flashcard, so I am terrified to go on stage.
From Lesson 284:Expressing feelings (partitive + 3rd person)·Finnish

Questions & Answers about Minulla ei ole muistilappua, joten minua kauhistuttaa mennä lavalle.

Why is the word for 'I' in the partitive case (minua) instead of the nominative (minä)?
This is a special Finnish sentence structure for expressing strong feelings. With emotion verbs like kauhistuttaa (to terrify), the person feeling the emotion is the target of the feeling, not the active subject. Therefore, the experiencer is in the partitive case (minua), and the verb is fixed in the 3rd person singular.
If minua is the object, what is the actual subject of the verb kauhistuttaa?
The subject is the action itself: mennä lavalle (to go on stage). If you translate it literally, the sentence says 'To go on stage terrifies me.' Whenever an infinitive verb like mennä acts as the subject, the main verb must take the 3rd person singular form.
How is the verb kauhistuttaa related to other words about fear?
Finnish often builds emotion verbs by adding an -ttaa or -uttaa ending to a root word. This ending makes the verb causative, meaning it 'causes' a certain feeling. It shares a root with words like kauhea (terrible), so kauhistuttaa literally means 'to cause terror' or 'to terrify.'
As a quick refresher, why is muistilappua (flashcard / memory note) in the partitive case?
It follows the rule for negative possession. In a positive sentence, the thing you have is usually in the nominative case. However, in a negative 'I do not have' sentence (Minulla ei ole...), the thing you are lacking must always take the partitive case.
Why use the case ending -lle in lavalle (onto the stage)?
The word lava means stage or platform, which Finnish treats as an open, flat surface rather than an enclosed box. When you move to or onto a surface, you use the allative case (-lle). If you were already performing there, you would use lavalla (on the stage).

Learn Minulla ei ole muistilappua, joten minua kauhistuttaa mennä lavalle and more in Finnish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Finnish →