Breakdown of Munkkihan pidättäytyy kaikesta ylellisyydestä.
kaikki
all, everything, everyone
munkki
monk
pidättäytyä
to abstain
ylellisyys
luxury
Questions & Answers about Munkkihan pidättäytyy kaikesta ylellisyydestä.
Why are both kaikki and ylellisyys in the elative case (kaikesta ylellisyydestä)?
The verb pidättäytyä (to abstain, refrain) belongs to the family of verbs expressing refusing, declining, or separating yourself from something. Just like kieltäytyä (to refuse), it requires the thing being avoided to be in the elative case (-sta/-stä). Because kaikki modifies ylellisyys, they both must take the elative ending.
Pidättäytyä looks like a very long verb. Is it related to a simpler root?
Yes, it is built on the root verb pitää (to hold). From there, we get pidättää (to hold back, to retain, to arrest). By adding the reflexive ending -ytyä, we get pidättäytyä, which literally means "to hold oneself back" (to abstain). Recognizing these suffixes helps unpack long, complex Finnish verbs.
Why does the stem of ylellisyys (luxury) change to ylellisyyde- before adding the -stä ending?
Nouns ending in -uus or -yys change that ending to -uute- or -yyte- to form their basic stem. When a closed syllable ending like the elative -stä is added, consonant gradation kicks in and weakens the strong t into a d, resulting in the stem ylellisyyde-.
What is the purpose of the -han suffix on Munkkihan?
The clitic -han / -hän is used to show that the speaker considers the statement to be shared, common, or obvious knowledge. It reminds the listener of a known fact, which is why it translates nicely here to "as you know" or "after all" (i.e., it is a known characteristic of monks to abstain from luxury).
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