Breakdown of Olen väsyneempi, koska en voinut torkkua lainkaan.
olla
to be
väsynyt
tired
koska
because
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
voida
can, to be able to
lainkaan
at all
torkkua
to snooze
Questions & Answers about Olen väsyneempi, koska en voinut torkkua lainkaan.
What is the difference between lainkaan and ollenkaan, and could we use ollenkaan in this sentence?
Both words mean "at all" and they are usually completely interchangeable. You could easily say en voinut torkkua ollenkaan here. Lainkaan is just slightly more formal and often used in written Finnish, but you will hear both in everyday speech.
Does lainkaan have to go at the very end of the clause?
Usually, yes. Negative polarity adverbs like lainkaan and ollenkaan strongly tend to appear at the end of the clause they modify. They wrap up the negative statement, so placing it anywhere else in en voinut torkkua lainkaan would sound unnatural.
Can lainkaan ever be used in a positive sentence?
No, it requires a negative word like en in the same clause, or at least a strongly negative context (like a rhetorical question). You cannot use it to say something positive like "I managed to doze at all".
How exactly does the adjective väsynyt become the comparative väsyneempi?
Words ending in -nut or -nyt (which are usually past participles acting as adjectives) change their stem to -nee- before adding the comparative ending -mpi. So, väsynyt becomes väsynee-, and adding -mpi gives you väsyneempi (more tired).
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