Questions & Answers about Kuningas rakennutti ison linnan.
How does the suffix -utti in rakennutti change the meaning compared to just saying rakensi?
The base verb is rakentaa (to build). Adding the curative suffix -uttaa creates rakennuttaa, meaning to have something built or to commission a building. If the sentence used the regular past tense rakensi, it would imply the king physically built the castle with his own hands. The -utti ending (the past tense of -uttaa) shows he had someone else do the labor.
Why is the stem rakenn- with a double N here, instead of rakent-?
For verb type 1 words like rakentaa, the curative suffix -uttaa typically attaches to the weak grade of the verb stem. You can find this by looking at the first person singular form: minä rakennan. Drop the personal ending -n and add -uttaa to get rakennuttaa.
Why are ison and linnan in the genitive form (ending in -n) instead of the partitive?
They form the total object of the sentence. Even though the king is having someone else do the work, an entire, complete castle was built. When an action is viewed as a completed whole and the sentence has a subject (kuningas), a singular object takes the accusative case, which looks identical to the genitive -n ending.
If I wanted to mention who the king hired to build the castle, how would I add that to this sentence?
When using curative verbs, the person who actually performs the physical action is put in the adessive case (ending in -lla or -llä). For example, if he had the workers (työläiset) build it, you would say Kuningas rakennutti ison linnan työläisillä.
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