Breakdown of Me opimme uusia tekniikoita toinen toiseltamme tatamilla.
me
we
uusi
new
oppia
to learn
toinen
other, another; second
tekniikka
the technique
tatami
the tatami
Questions & Answers about Me opimme uusia tekniikoita toinen toiseltamme tatamilla.
How does the phrase toinen toiseltamme work to mean "from each other" in this sentence?
This is the formal distributive structure for reciprocal pronouns. The first toinen is in the basic nominative case. The second toinen takes the case required by the verb (here, the ablative -lta for learning from) and adds the possessive suffix matching the subject me (which is -mme).
Why does the second toinen specifically use the ablative case (toiselta-)?
The verb oppia (to learn) requires the ablative case (-lta or -ltä) when expressing the person you are learning from. Because of this verb rection, "from each other" becomes toinen toiseltamme.
Is it strictly necessary to use the double toinen structure, or could I just say toisiltamme?
You can absolutely use toisiltamme. In spoken and everyday Finnish, the single plural word toisiltamme is much more common. The toinen toiseltamme structure shown here is more formal and emphasizes the individual, one-on-one nature of the exchange.
Why is uusia tekniikoita in the partitive plural rather than the accusative?
It is the object of the verb oppia. Because learning techniques is an open-ended, continuous process here, and the exact number of techniques is unspecified, the object must take the partitive plural.
Why doesn't the -i at the end of tatami change to an -e- before adding the adessive ending -lla?
Tatami is a relatively new loanword. Unlike older Finnish words ending in -i (where the -i often changes to -e-, like kieli becoming kielellä), new loanwords keep their final -i unchanged in the stem when case endings are added, resulting in tatamilla.
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