Breakdown of Nainen ei pidä hämähäkeistä, saati sitten hyönteisistä.
nainen
woman
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
pitää
to like
hämähäkki
spider
hyönteinen
insect
saati sitten
let alone
Questions & Answers about Nainen ei pidä hämähäkeistä, saati sitten hyönteisistä.
Why are both hämähäkeistä and hyönteisistä in the elative (-sta/-stä) case here?
The verb pitää (to like) requires the elative case. Because the sentence compares the two nouns, the case requirement carries over to the second noun after saati sitten. The structure essentially implies that she doesn't like spiders, let alone [liking] insects.
The lesson mentions puhumattakaan + elative. Could I use that instead of saati sitten here?
Yes! You could say ..., puhumattakaan hyönteisistä. However, be aware of a subtle grammar difference: puhumattakaan always requires the elative case (literally "without even speaking of"), whereas saati sitten simply copies whatever case the first noun is in. They just happen to overlap perfectly in this sentence because pitää already forced the elative.
Is the word sitten mandatory in the phrase saati sitten?
No, sitten is optional. You could just say Nainen ei pidä hämähäkeistä, saati hyönteisistä. Adding sitten is very common, however, because it adds a bit of rhythm and emphasis to the phrase.
As a quick refresher, how does the word hyönteinen (insect) become hyönteisistä?
For words ending in -nen, the plural stem is formed by replacing -nen with -s-. You take that stem (hyönteis-), add the plural marker -i-, and finally attach the elative ending -stä, giving you hyönteisistä.
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