Breakdown of Vietkö kenkäsi suutarille venytettäväksi, koska ne ovat liian tiukat?
olla
to be
ne
they / those (non-human) / they (of people)
koska
because
viedä
to take (away, somewhere) / to take (time), require
kenkä
the shoe
tiukka
strict / tight
liian
too (excessively)
suutari
cobbler
venyttää
to stretch (something)
Questions & Answers about Vietkö kenkäsi suutarille venytettäväksi, koska ne ovat liian tiukat?
How does the ending on venytettäväksi give it the meaning of 'to be stretched'?
It is made of the passive present participle venytettävä (meaning 'to be stretched' or 'stretchable') and the translative case ending -ksi. The translative case is often used to indicate a role, outcome, or purpose. Put together, it literally implies the shoes are being handed over 'for the purpose of being stretched'.
How do we know kenkäsi means plural 'shoes' here when there is no plural -t or -i marker visible?
When you attach a possessive suffix like -si (your) to a nominative plural noun (kengät), the plural -t is dropped. This makes the singular and nominative plural forms look identical (kenkäsi). We know it refers to multiple shoes here because the second half of the sentence uses ne ovat (they are).
Why is the verb viedä (vietkö) used here instead of ottaa for 'taking' the shoes?
While English uses 'take' for many different actions, Finnish makes a strict distinction. Ottaa means to take something into your possession or to grab it. When you transport or carry an object away to another location, such as delivering shoes to a cobbler, you must use viedä.
Could I use the base verb venyä to form this participle instead?
No, because venyä is an intransitive verb meaning something stretches on its own (like an old sweater). Because an external agent (the cobbler) is actively doing the stretching to the shoes, you must use the transitive verb venyttää (to stretch something). Its passive present participle is venytettävä.
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