Breakdown of Mainekas professori pitää puheen tänään.
tänään
today
professori
the professor
pitää
to hold / take (a break)
puhe
speech
mainekas
renowned
Questions & Answers about Mainekas professori pitää puheen tänään.
How is the adjective mainekas formed here?
It is formed from the noun maine (reputation or fame) and the suffix -kas. This suffix indicates possessing an abundance of a quality, so someone who has a lot of maine is mainekas (renowned or reputable).
Why does this word use the -kas ending instead of the front-vowel version -käs?
Vowel harmony dictates the suffix choice. The root word maine contains the back vowel a. Because back vowels (a, o, u) dictate back-vowel suffixes, the word must take -kas.
Why is the verb pitää used for giving a speech?
In Finnish, the standard phrase for giving a speech or presentation is pitää puhe, which translates literally as holding a speech. For this action, you must use pitää rather than a literal translation like antaa (to give).
Why is the object puheen in the genitive-like accusative case?
Giving a speech is a bounded, completed action. The professor is giving one whole speech, making it a total object. For a singular total object in an affirmative sentence, Finnish uses the genitive-accusative ending -n on the base word puhe.
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