Breakdown of Mies välttää lääkäreitä, pelottavista neuloista puhumattakaan.
mies
man
lääkäri
doctor
välttää
to avoid
puhumattakaan
not to mention
neula
needle
pelottava
scary
Questions & Answers about Mies välttää lääkäreitä, pelottavista neuloista puhumattakaan.
Why are pelottavista neuloista in the elative case (-sta/-stä)?
The expression puhumattakaan (not to mention / let alone) requires the preceding noun or phrase to be in the elative case. This is because the root verb puhua (to speak) takes the elative when you talk about something.
How exactly is the word puhumattakaan built?
It is formed from the verb puhua (to speak). It uses the third infinitive abessive form puhumatta (without speaking), attached to the clitic -kaan (even). Literally, it translates to "without even speaking (about)".
Could we use saati sitten instead of puhumattakaan here?
Yes, but the case would change! You would say saati sitten pelottavia neuloja. While puhumattakaan always forces the elative case (neuloista), saati sitten requires the noun to match the case of the thing being compared. Since lääkäreitä is partitive, the needles would also be partitive (neuloja).
Why is lääkäreitä in the partitive case?
The verb välttää (to avoid) always requires a partitive object. Because the man avoids doctors, the plural word lääkärit must be put into the plural partitive form lääkäreitä.
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