Breakdown of Hitaat eläimet, kuten kilpikonna ja simpukka, eivät ui yhtä nopeasti kuin valas.
ja
and
ei
no / not (negative verb)
nopeasti
fast
uida
to swim
hidas
slow
eläin
animal
kuin
than / like / as (also in "before …")
kuten
like, as
yhtä
equally / as
valas
whale
simpukka
shell
kilpikonna
turtle
Questions & Answers about Hitaat eläimet, kuten kilpikonna ja simpukka, eivät ui yhtä nopeasti kuin valas.
Why are kilpikonna and simpukka in the singular when they are examples of the plural hitaat eläimet?
When using kuten (such as) to list examples of a broader category, Finnish often puts the examples in the singular to refer to the species or concept as a whole. You could use the plural (kuten kilpikonnat ja simpukat), but the singular is very natural here.
How is the "as fast as" comparison formed in this sentence?
It uses the structure yhtä + [adverb/adjective] + kuin. Here, it is yhtä nopeasti kuin (literally "equally quickly as"). This is the standard way to express that two things are equal in a certain trait or action.
Why use nopeasti instead of just nopea?
Nopea is an adjective, but here we are describing how the animals swim (ui). Therefore, we need the adverb form nopeasti (quickly/fast). The structure yhtä ... kuin takes an adverb when modifying a verb, but would take an adjective if describing a noun.
What are the comma rules for kuten in this sentence?
Because the phrase kuten kilpikonna ja simpukka interrupts the main clause (Hitaat eläimet ... eivät ui) to give supplementary examples, it acts as an aside and must be enclosed in commas.
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