Breakdown of Hän tuli ylennetyksi ja sai vakituisen työpaikan.
hän
he / she
ja
and
työpaikka
job
saada
to get
tulla
to become
ylentää
to promote
vakituinen
permanent
Questions & Answers about Hän tuli ylennetyksi ja sai vakituisen työpaikan.
How does the construction tuli ylennetyksi work, and why is the translative case used?
This is the structure being taught in this lesson: the verb tulla (to become) combined with a passive past participle in the translative case (-ksi). The translative case expresses a change of state. Literally, it means she became into a state of having been promoted. In natural English, it translates closely to she got promoted.
What is the difference between saying Hän tuli ylennetyksi and the standard passive Hänet ylennettiin?
While Hänet ylennettiin neutrally states the fact that she was promoted, the tulla construction focuses on the subject's personal experience of the event. It feels very similar to the difference in English between she was promoted and she got promoted.
How is the word ylennetyksi formed from the base verb?
The base verb is ylentää (to promote). First, you form the passive past participle: ylennetty (promoted). To use it with tulla, you add the translative suffix -ksi. The addition of a closed syllable suffix triggers consonant gradation, changing the strong double -tt- to a weak single -t-, giving us ylennetyksi.
Why is vakituisen työpaikan in the genitive-looking accusative case?
It is the total direct object of the active verb sai (got). Because the second clause has a regular nominative subject (Hän is implied from the first clause), the total object takes the standard accusative ending -n.
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