Breakdown of Tottelevainen koira ja säästäväinen omistaja ovat hyvä pari.
olla
to be
koira
dog
ja
and
hyvä
good
omistaja
owner
pari
a couple (of)
säästäväinen
frugal
tottelevainen
obedient
Questions & Answers about Tottelevainen koira ja säästäväinen omistaja ovat hyvä pari.
How exactly do we build tottelevainen from the verb totella?
Totella (to obey) is a Type 3 verb. To form this tendency adjective, we take the verb's stem, which is tottele-, and add the suffix -vainen. This translates literally to someone who has the tendency to obey, hence "obedient".
Why is the suffix on säästäväinen spelled with an "ä" instead of an "a"?
This is due to vowel harmony. The root verb is säästää (to save). Because the stem säästä- contains the front vowel ä, the suffix must also use front vowels, making it -väinen. The resulting adjective means "tending to save", which we translate as "frugal" or "thrifty".
Why are hyvä and pari in the singular when the verb ovat is plural?
The subject is plural because it combines two distinct individuals (koira and omistaja) with ja (and). This requires the plural verb ovat. However, they come together to form one single entity, a pair (pari). Because they equal exactly one pair, the predicative complement hyvä pari remains in the nominative singular.
Can you remind me how omistaja is formed?
It is derived from the verb omistaa (to own). By taking the strong verb stem omista- and adding the agent suffix -ja, it becomes a noun meaning the person who does the action, just like adding "-er" to "own" makes "owner" in English.
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