Breakdown of Taksi ajoi kovaa vauhtia.
ajaa
to drive
kova
strong (intense, hard)
taksi
the taxi
vauhti
speed, pace
Questions & Answers about Taksi ajoi kovaa vauhtia.
Why is taksi in the basic nominative form here instead of the adessive taksilla (by taxi)?
In this sentence, the taxi is the subject doing the action (The taxi drove), so it stays in the basic nominative form taksi. You would only use the adessive taksilla if a person was using the taxi as a means of transport, like in the sentence Hän ajoi taksilla (He went by taxi).
Why are kovaa and vauhtia in the partitive case?
They are acting together to describe the manner of the action, answering 'how' the taxi drove. In Finnish, you can express moving at a certain speed by putting the adjective and the noun vauhti (speed or pace) into the partitive case.
Does kova mean 'fast' or 'hard'?
The literal meaning of kova is 'hard', but Finnish uses it broadly for high intensity. When talking about speed (vauhti), wind, or volume, it means 'fast', 'strong', or 'loud'. So kovaa vauhtia translates to a fast pace, even though it literally means a hard pace.
Could I just say Taksi ajoi nopeasti instead?
Absolutely. Nopeasti is the standard adverb for 'fast' or 'quickly', and it means the exact same thing here. However, kovaa vauhtia is a very common idiomatic phrase when talking about vehicles moving at high speeds, so it is a great one to know!