Breakdown of Voitko leventää tätä paitaa?
tämä
this
paita
shirt
voida
can, to be able to
leventää
to let out
Questions & Answers about Voitko leventää tätä paitaa?
Where does the verb leventää come from?
The verb leventää (to widen, to let out) is formed from the dimension adjective leveä (wide). In Finnish, you can often turn an adjective into a verb meaning to make something more of that adjective by adding the suffix -ntää or -ntaa.
Why is tätä paitaa in the partitive case instead of the accusative?
The partitive case is used here because the action of widening is seen as an indefinite change rather than reaching a strict, finalized endpoint. You are asking to make the shirt some amount wider, making the action open-ended.
If I wanted to ask someone to take in or narrow the shirt, what verb would I use instead of leventää?
You would use the verb kaventaa (to narrow, to take in). Following the exact same pattern taught in this lesson, it is built from the dimension adjective kapea (narrow) and turns into a verb meaning to make narrower.
Why use voitko instead of osaatko when asking someone to alter clothes?
The verb voida (used here as voitko) asks about general possibility or willingness to do the task. If you used osaatko from the verb osata, you would specifically be questioning if the person has the technical sewing skills required to alter the shirt.