Breakdown of Näyttelijän ääni oli runomainen, mutta liike patsasmainen.
olla
to be
mutta
but
ääni
sound
liike
movement
näyttelijä
the actor
patsasmainen
statue-like
runomainen
poetic
Questions & Answers about Näyttelijän ääni oli runomainen, mutta liike patsasmainen.
What does the suffix -mainen add to the nouns runo and patsas?
The suffix -mainen (or -mäinen with front vowels) turns a noun into an adjective meaning 'like' or 'resembling' that thing. Here, runo (poem) becomes runomainen (poem-like or poetic) and patsas (statue) becomes patsasmainen (statue-like).
Why does -mainen attach directly to the word patsas instead of its stem patsaa-?
Unlike most Finnish suffixes that require the inflectional stem, -mainen is special: it attaches directly to the basic nominative (dictionary) form of the word. This is why we say patsasmainen and not patsaamainen.
How would patsasmainen inflect if the sentence was about plural 'statue-like movements'?
Adjectives formed with -mainen inflect just like any other word ending in -nen (such as nainen). The -nen changes to -s- for the plural nominative. Therefore, 'statue-like movements' would be patsasmaiset liikkeet.
Why isn't the actor mentioned again before liike in the second half of the sentence?
The genitive näyttelijän (the actor's) at the beginning of the sentence establishes possession for both ääni (voice) and liike (movement). Finnish often omits the possessor in a coordinated second clause if it remains exactly the same.
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