Breakdown of Tervehdyt nopeasti lepäämällä.
nopeasti
fast
levätä
to rest
tervehtyä
to recover (from illness)
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Questions & Answers about Tervehdyt nopeasti lepäämällä.
How does tervehdyt fit into this lesson about -ntua / -ntyä verbs?
Tervehdyt (you recover) comes from the verb tervehtyä. It is an inchoative verb, meaning it expresses becoming something—in this case, becoming terve (healthy). While the standard suffix in this lesson is -ntua or -ntyä, adjectives ending in a vowel often take the variant suffix -htua or -htyä to create this exact same meaning.
Why does tervehtyä change to tervehdyt with a d?
This is standard consonant gradation. The weak grade of t is d. Adding the second-person singular ending -t closes the final syllable, which triggers the weak grade. Therefore, the strong t in tervehtyä becomes a weak d in tervehdyt.
What grammatical structure is used in lepäämällä to mean "by resting"?
This uses the third infinitive (the -ma or -mä form) in the adessive case (-lla or -llä). Adding -malla or -mällä to a verb stem is the standard way to express how or by what means an action is accomplished, which is equivalent to "by doing [something]" in English.
Why does the dictionary form levätä (to rest) turn into lepää- before adding the suffixes?
Levätä is a type 4 verb. To form the third infinitive, you must use the strong grade of the present tense stem. The weak consonant v steps up to the strong consonant p, and the final vowel of the stem doubles. This gives the strong stem lepää-, to which we add -mällä.