Breakdown of Minun kannattaa ehkä tummentaa tyveä.
ehkä
maybe, perhaps
minun
my, mine
kannattaa
to be profitable / to be worth it
tyvi
root
Questions & Answers about Minun kannattaa ehkä tummentaa tyveä.
How does the suffix in tummentaa change the meaning of the base word?
It attaches to the adjective tumma (dark) using the suffix -ntaa. This derives an active, transitive verb meaning 'to make something dark' or 'to darken'. It indicates that the subject is actively causing a state change to the object.
If tummentaa means 'to darken something', how would I say that something gets dark by itself?
You would use the intransitive verb tummua. The -ntaa suffix is specifically for when a subject does the action to an object. For things changing state on their own, Finnish usually uses suffixes like -ua / -yä or -tua / -tyä.
Why is the subject minun in the genitive case instead of the nominative minä?
The verb kannattaa (to be worthwhile / to be advisable) acts as a necessive verb here. Just like the verbs täytyy and pitää (must), it requires its logical subject to be in the genitive case.
In a necessive structure like minun kannattaa, shouldn't the object be in the nominative case? Why is it the partitive tyveä?
A necessive structure does normally take a nominative total object if an action is fully completed. However, the partitive rule always overrides this if the action is partial or doesn't have a definitive endpoint. Applying dye to your roots is treated as an ongoing or partial process, so tyvi (root / base) takes the partitive.