Breakdown of Vartijan kasvot eivät värähtäneet.
ei
no / not (negative verb)
kasvot
face
vartija
guard
värähtää
to quiver
Questions & Answers about Vartijan kasvot eivät värähtäneet.
How does the -ähtää suffix affect the meaning of the verb in this sentence?
It makes the verb 'momentane', meaning the action happens suddenly and only once. The base verb is väristä (to tremble or shiver continuously). By changing the ending to -ähtää, the derived verb värähtää means 'to give a single twitch' or 'to flinch'.
Why is the verb phrase eivät värähtäneet in the plural, if we are only talking about one face?
In Finnish, the word for face (kasvot) is always plural, just like scissors or pants in English. Because the subject is plural, the negative verb must be eivät (they did not) and the main verb takes a plural ending.
Why does the main verb end in -neet here?
This is the past tense negative form for a plural subject. To make a past negative sentence, you use the negative verb (here, eivät) followed by the past participle (the NUT-participle). Because kasvot is plural, the participle ending changes from the singular -nyt to the plural -neet.
Could I say Vartijan kasvot eivät värisseet instead?
Yes, but it changes the meaning from a sudden action to a continuous one. Värisseet comes from the base verb väristä and would mean the guard's face 'did not tremble' (as an ongoing state). Using the momentane värähtäneet emphasizes that there wasn't even a single, split-second flinch.