Questions & Answers about Paniikki ja kuolema olivat kannella.
Why does this sentence use the adessive case (-lla) in "kannella" instead of the forms we are learning in this lesson?
Because the verb here is olla (to be), which expresses a static state, so "on the deck" takes the regular adessive case kannella. The lesson's target verbs like jäädä (to remain) or jättää (to leave) require a "movement to" case. While that usually means the illative case for inner locations, a deck is an outer location. If panic and death had remained on the deck, you would use the allative case instead: Paniikki ja kuolema jäivät kannelle.
What is the base form of "kannella" and why does it look so different here?
The base nominative form is kansi (deck or cover). Old Finnish nouns ending in -si often have stems that change to -te- or -nne-. Here, the ns undergoes consonant gradation to nn, and the i changes to e, giving the stem kanne-. Add the adessive ending -lla and you get kannella.
Why do we use the plural verb "olivat" instead of the singular "oli" here?
Because the subject of the sentence consists of two things connected by ja (and): Paniikki ja kuolema. Together they form a plural compound subject, so the verb olla must match it in the third-person plural past tense, olivat.
Is the word "kuolema" related to the verb "kuolla" (to die)?