Breakdown of Onko tilanne toivoton, jos kirjailija on väsynyt ajattelemaan?
olla
to be
väsynyt
tired
ajatella
to think
jos
if
tilanne
situation
kirjailija
author / writer
toivoton
hopeless
Questions & Answers about Onko tilanne toivoton, jos kirjailija on väsynyt ajattelemaan?
Why is the verb to think in the form ajattelemaan instead of the basic infinitive ajatella?
Adjectives describing fatigue or emotional saturation, like väsynyt (tired), require the word attached to them to be in the illative case (the into case). When that attached word is a verb, we must use the 3rd infinitive illative, which ends in -maan or -mään. While in English you are tired of thinking, in Finnish you are tired into thinking.
How is the word toivoton formed?
It is formed from the noun toivo (hope) and the caritive suffix -ton or -tön. This suffix is the equivalent of the English -less or without, making toivoton mean exactly hopeless.
Is väsynyt a regular adjective?
It acts exactly like an adjective here, but it is actually the past active participle (often called the NUT-participle) of the verb väsyä (to get tired). It describes the state of a person who has already completed the action of getting tired.
Could I use kirjoittaja instead of kirjailija here?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. kirjailija specifically means an author of books or a professional novelist. kirjoittaja is a more general term for a writer, referring to someone who wrote a specific text, like an article, an essay, or an email.
Learn Onko tilanne toivoton, jos kirjailija on väsynyt ajattelemaan and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free