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Questions & Answers about Velho siunatkoon valtakuntaa.
How is the 3rd person imperative siunatkoon formed from the base verb?
The base verb is siunata (to bless, a type 4 verb). To form the 3rd person imperative, you take the infinitive stem siunat- and add the 3rd person suffix -koon. This creates siunatkoon (let him or her bless).
Why is the object valtakuntaa in the partitive case here? Does the imperative mood cause this?
The imperative mood does not cause this. The verb siunata is a partitive verb, meaning its object must always take the partitive case, whether it is used in a regular statement or an imperative command.
Could we change the word order to Siunatkoon velho valtakuntaa?
Yes, and that word order is very common! Starting the sentence with the imperative verb gives it a more formal or poetic tone, translating nicely to 'May the wizard bless the realm'. The current word order puts slightly more focus on the wizard.
If siunatkoon means 'let him bless', how would I say 'bless!' directly to the wizard?
You would use the 2nd person singular imperative. For siunata, this is the present tense stem. You would say velho, siunaa valtakuntaa! (wizard, bless the realm!).