Breakdown of Vastoinkäymisistä huolimatta hän ei koskaan antanut periksi.
hän
he / she
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
koskaan
never / ever
huolimatta
despite
antaa periksi
to give up (to yield, give in)
vastoinkäyminen
setback
Questions & Answers about Vastoinkäymisistä huolimatta hän ei koskaan antanut periksi.
Why is the word vastoinkäymisistä in the elative case?
It is required by the word huolimatta (despite). The word huolimatta is an adposition of concession that always forces the noun it pairs with into the elative case, which usually means adding -sta or -stä. Here we see the plural elative ending -istä.
Can huolimatta be placed before the noun instead of after it?
Yes. While it is acting as a postposition in this sentence, huolimatta is flexible and can also be used as a preposition. You could say huolimatta vastoinkäymisistä and the meaning remains exactly the same. The noun still takes the elative case either way.
How is the noun vastoinkäymisistä formed?
The base noun is vastoinkäyminen (setback or adversity). It is a compound of vastoin (against) and käyminen (going), which is the noun form of the verb käydä. Literally, it translates to a 'going against'. Recognizing these compound structures makes advanced vocabulary much easier to remember at this level.
What is the literal translation of the phrase antanut periksi?
The base phrase is antaa periksi, which is a very common idiom meaning 'to give up', 'to yield', or 'to give in'. It combines antaa (to give) with periksi, which is the translative case of perä (back, rear, or end). Literally, it means something like 'to give to the back'.
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