Breakdown of Ylimmäinen kerros on hiljainen, mutta alimmainen on meluisa.
olla
to be
mutta
but
kerros
floor (level of a building)
hiljainen
quiet
Questions & Answers about Ylimmäinen kerros on hiljainen, mutta alimmainen on meluisa.
How are the words ylimmäinen and alimmainen formed in this sentence?
They combine positional roots with the extremity suffix -immainen / -immäinen. Ylimmäinen comes from yli (over/above) and takes the front-vowel version (-immäinen) due to vowel harmony. Alimmainen comes from ala (under/below) and takes the back-vowel version (-immainen).
What is the difference between ylimmäinen and the superlative ylin?
While they are often used interchangeably to mean the highest, ylimmäinen strongly emphasizes the absolute topmost physical position in a stack or sequence, like floors in a building. Ylin is a standard superlative that can also be used more abstractly, such as holding the highest rank.
How do these extremity adjectives decline, for example if I want to say "on the topmost floor"?
Words ending in the -immainen suffix follow the standard declension rule for -nen words. You drop the -nen and add -se- before the case ending. On the topmost floor becomes ylimmäisessä kerroksessa.
What does the suffix -isa do in the word meluisa?