Breakdown of Myrsky voimistuu nopeammin kuin kukaan osaa kuvitella.
nopeasti
fast
osata
to know how to
kukaan
anyone, nobody (with negation)
myrsky
storm
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
kuvitella
to imagine
voimistua
to intensify
Questions & Answers about Myrsky voimistuu nopeammin kuin kukaan osaa kuvitella.
Why use kukaan here when the sentence is completely affirmative?
Even though kukaan usually means 'no one' in negative sentences, it acts as 'anyone' in specific affirmative contexts like comparisons with kuin (than). If you used joku (someone) here, it would sound like the storm is faster than some specific person can imagine, rather than faster than anyone at all.
I always mix up the comparatives. Why is it nopeammin and not nopeampi here?
Nopeampi is a comparative adjective used to describe nouns, like nopeampi myrsky (a faster storm). But here, you are describing how the storm is acting (the verb voimistua), so you need a comparative adverb. The basic adverb is nopeasti (fast/quickly), which becomes nopeammin (faster/more quickly) to describe an action.
Is the verb voimistuu related to the noun voima (strength)?
Yes! The -stua or -styä verb suffix often turns a noun or an adjective into a verb that means 'to become [word]'. Because voima means strength or power, voimistua literally translates to 'to become stronger', which fits perfectly for a storm intensifying.
Why does the sentence use osaa (knows how to) instead of voi (can) for 'can imagine'?
While voida expresses general possibility or permission, osata is used for having the mental or physical capacity to do something. For a cognitive action like kuvitella (to imagine), Finns often use osata to mean that someone's brain is capable of picturing it. Voi kuvitella is also perfectly fine here, but osaa emphasizes the limit of human mental capacity.
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