Breakdown of Älkööt tunkeutujat piilottako pahoja aikeitaan minulta.
minä
I
paha
bad (evil, severe)
piilottaa
to hide
älköön
let not (3rd person singular; plural: älkööt)
Questions & Answers about Älkööt tunkeutujat piilottako pahoja aikeitaan minulta.
How do älkööt and piilottako work together to form this command?
This is the 3rd person plural negative imperative being taught in this lesson. The negative auxiliary verb takes the plural form älkööt (let them not), and the main verb piilottaa (to hide) takes the connegative imperative ending -ko. This suffix matches the back vowels of the verb.
Why is the subject tunkeutujat sandwiched between the two verbs?
In 3rd person imperative sentences, Finnish typically places the subject right after the first imperative verb. While you might expect standard word order, it is much more natural and traditional in commands to say älkööt tunkeutujat piilottako rather than putting the subject first.
What is the base form of aikeitaan, and why is it in the partitive case here?
The base noun is aie (intention). Because this is a negative sentence, the object of the action must be in the partitive case. The plural partitive of aie is aikeita, to which the third-person possessive suffix -an (their) is added to create aikeitaan.
Why does the sentence use minulta (from me) instead of a different locative case?