Question 1

If I wanted to ask "What kind of acrobat smiles?" using the current lesson's topic, how would I say it?

Accepted Answer

You would ask "Millainen akrobaatti hymyilee?". Because akrobaatti is the subject of the sentence (in the basic nominative case), the question word millainen must also be in the nominative case, just like the adjective komea in the answer.

Question 2

How do we get the form hymyilee from its dictionary form?

Accepted Answer

The dictionary form is hymyillä (to smile), which is a Type 3 verb. To conjugate it, you drop the -llä ending and add an -e- to find the stem: hymyile-. For the third person singular ("he/she/it smiles"), you double the final vowel of the stem, giving us hymyilee.

Question 3

Does the adjective komea carry the exact same meaning as "handsome" in English?

Accepted Answer

Mostly, yes! Just like in English, komea is typically used to describe good-looking men (while kaunis is used for beautiful women). However, komea can also describe inanimate things that are grand, handsome, or impressive in stature, like a large building or a fancy car.

Question 4

If this sentence were about multiple acrobats, how would the adjective change?

Accepted Answer

In Finnish, adjectives must always agree with the noun they describe in both case and number. To say "The handsome acrobats smile", both the adjective and the noun get the plural -t marker, and the verb takes the plural form too: "Komeat akrobaatit hymyilevät."

Komea akrobaatti hymyilee.

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