Breakdown of Satuin tapaamaan entisen pomoni kadulla.
katu
street
tavata
to meet
pomo
boss
sattua
to happen (by chance)
entinen
former
Questions & Answers about Satuin tapaamaan entisen pomoni kadulla.
Why is the verb "tavata" in the form tapaamaan here?
The verb sattua (when meaning "to happen to do something") requires the following action verb to be in the -maan/-mään form, also known as the third infinitive illative. You take the strong stem of tavata (tapaa-) and add -maan.
Since the main verb is satuin, why isn't the object in the partitive case (entistä pomoani)?
While ongoing actions or negative sentences require the partitive, this is a completed, sudden encounter. The verb tavata (to meet) takes a total object here to show the meeting was fully accomplished, so the object is in the genitive-accusative form.
Why does the adjective entisen have an -n at the end, but pomoni doesn't?
The object phrase would normally be entisen pomon. However, when you add a possessive suffix like -ni (my) to a noun ending in the genitive -n, the suffix replaces the -n, making it pomoni. The modifying adjective entisen (former) doesn't take the possessive suffix, so it keeps its -n ending.
Why do we use the adessive case kadulla for "on the street" instead of the inessive?
In Finnish, streets, roads, and yards are generally thought of as open surfaces rather than enclosed spaces. Therefore, you use the adessive case (-lla/-llä) to say you are "on" the street, rather than "in" it.
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