Breakdown of Me kaikki hengähdimme, kun vaara oli ohi.
olla
to be
me
we
vaara
the danger
kaikki
all, everything, everyone
kun
when (conjunction)
ohi
past, over (by)
hengähtää
to take a breath
Questions & Answers about Me kaikki hengähdimme, kun vaara oli ohi.
How does the momentane suffix change the meaning of the base verb in hengähdimme?
The base verb is hengittää (to breathe). The suffix -ähtää creates the momentane verb hengähtää, which implies a short, sudden, or single occurrence of an action. Instead of the continuous process of breathing, it means to take a single breath or to heave a sigh of relief.
Why is there a d in hengähdimme instead of a t?
The infinitive is hengähtää. When conjugated in the past tense for we (-mme), the syllable is closed. This triggers consonant gradation, changing the strong t in the suffix to a weak d. Combined with the past tense marker -i-, the stem -ähtä- becomes -ähdi-, resulting in hengähdimme.
Would it make sense to use the basic verb hengitimme in this sentence instead?
No, it would lose the intended meaning. Hengitimme just means we breathed, referring to the continuous biological process. The momentane form hengähdimme is required here to express the specific, single action of letting out a breath of relief once the danger passed.
How does the phrase oli ohi work to mean was over?
The word ohi is an adverb meaning past or by. The structure olla ohi (literally to be past) is the standard idiomatic way in Finnish to express that an event, time, or situation is over or finished.
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