Breakdown of Jäänmurtajan saavuttua merijää alkoi halkeilla.
alkaa
to start
saapua
to arrive
jäänmurtaja
icebreaker
merijää
sea ice
halkeilla
to crack
Questions & Answers about Jäänmurtajan saavuttua merijää alkoi halkeilla.
Why is the icebreaker in the genitive form (jäänmurtajan) instead of the nominative (jäänmurtaja)?
In this past temporal construction (meaning "after [something] happened"), the first subject has to be in the genitive if it is different from the main subject. Since the icebreaker arrived, but the sea ice cracked, we put the icebreaker in the genitive (jäänmurtajan).
How is saavuttua formed from the basic verb saapua (to arrive)?
To build this structure when the clauses have different subjects, you take the passive past participle of the verb—which is saavuttu ("has been arrived")—and add the partitive ending -a. Even though it's built from a passive form, the meaning here is entirely active: "after the icebreaker arrived."
Why isn't there a possessive suffix on the participle, like saavuttuaan?
You only add a possessive suffix to a temporal construction if the subject of the action is the same as the subject of the main clause. Because the arriving was done by the icebreaker, and the cracking was done by the sea ice, they are different subjects. Therefore, we use the bare participle saavuttua with no possessive suffix.
What is the difference between halkeilla and the simpler verb haljeta (to crack)?
Halkeilla is a frequentative verb, which means the action is continuous, repeated, or happens in many places. While haljeta would imply the ice just snapped once, halkeilla paints an accurate picture of the ice fracturing continuously in many directions as the ship pushes through.
I often mix up the rules for "starting" verbs. Why is it alkoi halkeilla instead of alkoi halkeilemaan?
The verb alkaa (to begin/start) always takes the basic dictionary form of the next verb (the first infinitive), so we use halkeilla. If the sentence had used the similar verb ruveta (to start), then you would need the third infinitive ending in -maan (e.g., rupesi halkeilemaan).
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