Breakdown of Mehiläiset eivät parveile mehiläistarhoissammekaan tiistaina.
ei
no / not (negative verb)
tiistai
Tuesday
mehiläinen
bee
mehiläistarha
the apiary
parveilla
to swarm
Questions & Answers about Mehiläiset eivät parveile mehiläistarhoissammekaan tiistaina.
How do the suffixes in mehiläistarhoissammekaan break down in order?
This word perfectly demonstrates the strict Finnish suffix order (Stem + Plural + Case + Possessive + Enclitic). It breaks down as: mehiläistarho- (stem) + -i- (plural marker) + -ssa- (inessive case "in") + -mme (possessive "our") + -kaan (enclitic "even").
Why does the stem of mehiläistarha change to mehiläistarho- before the suffixes?
When adding the plural marker -i-, words (or compound word endings) that end in -a often change that -a to -o- to make the vowel combination pronounceable. So tarha + i becomes tarhoi- before the rest of the suffixes are stacked on.
Why is the enclitic -kaan used here instead of -kin for "even"?
Because the sentence is negative, driven by the negative verb eivät. In positive sentences, "even" or "also" is expressed with -kin. In negative sentences, this suffix must switch to -kaan (or -kään depending on vowel harmony).
What form is the verb parveile in, and where is its personal ending?
It is in the connegative form, which is required after the negative verb eivät and does not take personal endings. You find it by taking the first-person singular form (parveilen) of the dictionary verb parveilla (to swarm) and dropping the final -n.
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