Breakdown of Lainasin tämän kirjasen kirjastosta.
tämä
this
kirjasto
library
lainata
to borrow
kirjanen
booklet
Questions & Answers about Lainasin tämän kirjasen kirjastosta.
How is the word kirjasen formed, and what is its base form?
The base form is kirjanen, which is formed by adding the diminutive suffix -nen to the noun kirja (book). To get the accusative object form used here, the -nen ending changes to its stem -se-, and we add the -n object marker, making it kirjasen.
Is kirjanen used exactly like a small book (pieni kirja)?
Not quite. While it literally means a small book, kirjanen has lexicalized to mean a specific type of publication, like a booklet, pamphlet, or tract. If you were reading a regular novel that just happened to be physically small, you would normally just say pieni kirja.
Why are tämän and kirjasen in the genitive-like -n form here instead of the partitive?
Because borrowing a book is seen as a completed action affecting the whole object. When you have a total object like this in an affirmative sentence, it takes the -n accusative ending. If the sentence were negative, they would take the partitive form instead: tätä kirjasta.
I know -nen is often used for adjectives. How can I tell it is a diminutive noun here?