Breakdown of He puhuivat toisistaan yksillä etkoilla ja kaksilla jatkoilla.
ja
and
he
they
puhua
to speak
yksi
one
kaksi
two
toinen
other, another; second
etkot
the pre-party
jatkot
the afterparty
Questions & Answers about He puhuivat toisistaan yksillä etkoilla ja kaksilla jatkoilla.
Why are the numbers 'one' and 'two' in plural forms (yksillä and kaksilla)?
Because they describe etkot (pre-party) and jatkot (afterparty), which are plural-only words. To count plural-only nouns, the number itself must also be in the plural and match the noun's case. Here, they are in the adessive plural (the -llä / -lla ending) to mean 'at one...' and 'at two...'.
How are the plural stems for yksillä and kaksilla formed?
To decline numbers in the plural, you use the plural marker -i-. Unlike their singular stems which change significantly (e.g., yhde-, kahde-), the plural stems are simply yksi- and kaksi-. Adding the adessive endings gives us yksillä (front vowel harmony) and kaksilla (back vowel harmony).
Are etkot and jatkot common words, and where do they come from?
Yes, they are very common colloquial words for parties. Etkot is related to words like etu (front/before) and means a pre-party. Jatkot comes from the verb jatkaa (to continue) and means an afterparty. They are always used in the plural.
How does toisistaan translate to 'about each other'?
To say 'each other', Finnish uses the pronoun toinen (other) combined with a possessive suffix. The verb puhua (to speak) requires the elative case (-sta / -stä) for the topic being discussed. So, we take the plural elative toisista (about others) and add the third-person possessive suffix -an, resulting in toisistaan.
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