Word
Kala ei pilaannu niin kauan kuin se ei muutu lämpimäksi.
Meaning
The fish does not spoil as long as it does not turn warm.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kala ei pilaannu niin kauan kuin se ei muutu lämpimäksi.
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
kala
fish
lämmin
warm
Questions & Answers about Kala ei pilaannu niin kauan kuin se ei muutu lämpimäksi.
What exactly does niin kauan kuin mean, and can I just use kun instead?
Literally it translates to "so long as" or "so long than". While kun simply means "when" or "while", niin kauan kuin specifically emphasizes the duration of a condition. You cannot swap it for kun without losing that emphasis on how long the state lasts.
Why is the word for warm (lämmin) in the translative form lämpimäksi here?
The adjective lämmin has the stem lämpimä-, to which the translative ending -ksi is added. The verb muuttua (to change or turn into) always requires this case to express a change of state, making it literally "to change into a warm state".
Why do the verbs pilaantua and muuttua lose their strong consonants in ei pilaannu and ei muutu?
In negative present sentences, verbs appear in their connegative form, which requires the "weak" consonant grade. For pilaantua, the strong -nt- weakens to -nn-, and for muuttua, the strong -tt- weakens to -t-.
How is pilaantua (to spoil) different from the similar verb pilata?