Breakdown of Säästäväiset ihmiset ovat harvoin unohtavaisia.
olla
to be
ihminen
human
harvoin
rarely, seldom
säästäväinen
frugal
unohtavainen
forgetful
Questions & Answers about Säästäväiset ihmiset ovat harvoin unohtavaisia.
How is säästäväiset formed from its base verb?
It comes from the verb säästää (to save). We take the strong verb stem säästä- and add the tendency suffix -väinen, creating säästäväinen (frugal, having a habit of saving). Here it has the plural ending -t to match ihmiset.
Why does unohtavaisia use the partitive plural when säästäväiset uses the nominative plural?
They play different roles in the sentence. Säästäväiset is an attribute attached directly to the subject ihmiset, so they both take the nominative plural. Unohtavaisia, however, is the predicative (the adjective describing the subject after the verb olla). For plural subjects, the predicative adjective must be in the partitive plural.
What is the difference in nuance between unohtavainen and the active past participle unohtanut?
The suffix -vainen describes a continuous habit, tendency, or personality trait. Unohtavainen means "forgetful" by nature. In contrast, the participle unohtanut describes a completed action, meaning someone "has forgotten" a specific thing.
What kind of word is harvoin and how is it built?
It is an adverb meaning "rarely" or "seldom." It is formed from the adjective harva (sparse or few) using the instructive case ending -in, which is a very common way to create adverbs of manner and frequency in Finnish.
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