Breakdown of Rajatarkastuksessa halusimme tarkistaa vaarallisen näköisen epäillyn.
haluta
to want
tarkistaa
to check
vaarallinen
dangerous
epäilty
suspect
näköinen
-looking / looking like
rajatarkastus
border control / border check
Questions & Answers about Rajatarkastuksessa halusimme tarkistaa vaarallisen näköisen epäillyn.
Why do both vaarallisen and näköisen end in -n here?
The phrase vaarallisen näköinen means "dangerous-looking". The first part is the adjective vaarallinen in the genitive case, which links it to näköinen (looking). Because the whole phrase describes the object epäillyn (the suspect), it must agree with the object's case. Since epäillyn has the accusative -n ending, näköinen also takes the -n ending, resulting in vaarallisen näköisen.
Is vaarallisen näköinen written as one word or two?
When the modifier is a standard adjective like vaarallinen (dangerous) or outo (weird), they are written as two separate words (vaarallisen näköinen). They are usually only combined into a single compound word when the first part is a short pronoun or basic modifier, creating words like samannäköinen (same-looking).
Why is the object epäillyn in the -n form (accusative) instead of the partitive case?
The verb tarkistaa (to check) takes a total object when the action is intended to be completed. Because we want to check the suspect completely and finish the task, we use the accusative -n ending. If the checking was an ongoing, incomplete process, we would use the partitive form epäiltyä.
What is the base form of epäillyn, and why does it have a double -ll-?
The base form is epäilty (suspect), which literally means "the suspected one" from the verb epäillä (to suspect). When you add the -n ending to epäilty, consonant gradation weakens the -lt- combination into a double -ll-, making it epäillyn.
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