Breakdown of Tarjoilija oli tänään todella töykeä asiakkaalle.
olla
to be
tänään
today
asiakas
the customer
tarjoilija
the waiter
todella
really (very, intensifier)
töykeä
rude
Questions & Answers about Tarjoilija oli tänään todella töykeä asiakkaalle.
Why is asiakkaalle in the allative case (-lle) instead of the illative (-hVn)?
Adjectives describing interpersonal behavior toward someone, such as töykeä (rude), ystävällinen (friendly), or vihainen (angry), require the target of that behavior to be in the allative case. In Finnish, you are polite or rude 'onto' someone.
What is the stem of asiakas, and why are there two K's in asiakkaalle?
The noun asiakas belongs to the word type ending in -as. To find its stem, you replace the -s with an extra vowel, creating the basic stem asiakaa-. Because this process changes the syllable structure, it triggers consonant gradation from the weak single k to the strong double kk, resulting in the final stem asiakkaa- before the -lle ending is added.
Could I use tosi instead of todella here?
Yes, absolutely. Tosi töykeä means exactly the same thing. Todella is the standard form that works perfectly in both spoken and written Finnish, while tosi is extremely common in everyday speech but generally avoided in formal writing.
Why is asiakkaalle at the end of the sentence rather than next to the verb?
Finnish word order is flexible, but it generally follows a flow where new or emphasized information comes later. By placing asiakkaalle at the very end, the sentence specifically highlights the customer as the target of the rudeness. You could also say Tarjoilija oli asiakkaalle todella töykeä tänään if you wanted to emphasize the time instead.
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