Breakdown of Sinun kannattaa kavahtaa tuollaista miestä.
sinä
you
mies
man
kannattaa
to be profitable / to be worth it
tuollainen
that kind of
kavahtaa
to recoil from
Questions & Answers about Sinun kannattaa kavahtaa tuollaista miestä.
The verb kavahtaa has the momentane suffix -ahtaa. What does this suffix tell us about the action?
The -ahtaa suffix indicates a sudden, brief, or spontaneous reaction. While translated here as "steer clear of", the literal physical meaning of kavahtaa is to suddenly flinch, recoil, or startle away from something.
What base verb is kavahtaa derived from?
It comes from the older verb kavota, which means to shrink or back away. Adding the momentane suffix makes it a sudden instance of backing away. In modern Finnish, the derived form kavahtaa is actually much more common than its base verb!
Why is "that kind of man" in the partitive case (tuollaista miestä)?
Verbs expressing emotion, fear, or avoidance almost always take a partitive object. Since kavahtaa implies an ongoing attitude of wariness or avoidance toward the man, the partitive is required here, much like with the verb pelätä (to fear).
Why does the sentence start with the genitive sinun instead of the nominative sinä?
This is required by the verb kannattaa (to be worthwhile / should). Like necessity verbs such as täytyy or pitää, kannattaa requires its subject to be in the genitive case. The sentence literally translates to "It is worthwhile for you to steer clear..."
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