Breakdown of Tuote vaurioitui, mutta sain hyvityksen kirjeitse.
mutta
but
kirje
letter
saada
to get
tuote
the product
vaurioitua
to get damaged
hyvitys
the refund
Questions & Answers about Tuote vaurioitui, mutta sain hyvityksen kirjeitse.
What does the ending -itse in kirjeitse mean, and why don't we just use the adessive kirjeellä?
The ending -itse is the prolative case, which expresses the route or medium through which something happens. While kirjeellä is sometimes heard in casual speech, kirjeitse is the standard, idiomatic way to say 'by letter' or 'via mail.' It is very common with means of communication, such as puhelimitse (by phone) or sähköpostitse (by email).
How is the prolative case formed in the word kirjeitse?
It is formed by taking the plural stem and adding the ending -tse. The stem of kirje is kirjee-, so adding the plural -i- makes it kirjei-, and adding -tse gives us kirjeitse. Notice that the prolative almost always attaches to the plural stem, even when you are only talking about a single letter or route.
The verb vaurioitui comes from the noun vaurio (damage). How does the -itua ending work here?
The suffix -itua (or -ityä) turns a noun or adjective into an automative verb, meaning something happens by itself or the agent is left unmentioned. While vaurioittaa means 'to damage' (an active action by someone), vaurioitua means 'to get damaged' or 'to become damaged.'
Why is the word for refund, hyvitys, written here as hyvityksen?
It is the total object of the verb sain (I received). Because the action is completed (you received the full refund) and the clause has a regular grammatical subject (I), the object takes the genitive-like accusative ending -n.
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