Breakdown of Tällainen itsetunto on tärkeää, kun pelkäät tulla petetyksi.
olla
to be
tärkeä
important
kun
when (conjunction)
tulla
to become
pelätä
to fear
tällainen
this kind of
itsetunto
self-esteem
pettää
to betray
Questions & Answers about Tällainen itsetunto on tärkeää, kun pelkäät tulla petetyksi.
What exactly is the tulla petetyksi construction doing here?
This is the passive experience construction. It literally translates to to become betrayed. Using tulla followed by a passive past participle in the translative case (-ksi) is a highly natural way in Finnish to express getting or being subjected to an action, without needing a clunky sub-clause like että sinut petetään (that you are betrayed).
How is the exact form petetyksi built?
It comes from the verb pettää (to betray or cheat). First, you form the passive past participle petetty (betrayed). Because it is used with tulla to indicate an outcome or change of state, it goes into the translative case. The double -tt- weakens to a single -t- due to consonant gradation, and you add the translative ending -ksi, resulting in petetyksi.
Why is tärkeää in the partitive case, even though the subject itsetunto is in the nominative?
Abstract concepts like itsetunto (self-esteem) usually take a partitive adjective complement. Because self-esteem is an uncountable, conceptual quality rather than a discrete physical object, using the partitive tärkeää is the grammatically correct way to describe it.
Why is tulla in its basic dictionary form (first infinitive) here?
The verb pelätä (to fear) dictates this. When you are afraid of doing an action, pelätä is followed directly by the first infinitive of the next verb, which is tulla here. (If you were afraid of a noun instead, that noun would be in the partitive case, like pelkäät koiraa).
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