Breakdown of Emme enää toimi assistentteina, koska työskentelemme nyt konsultteina.
nyt
now
koska
because
ei
no / not (negative verb)
enää
anymore
toimia
to function, to work / to act
työskennellä
to work
assistentti
assistant (administrative, academic)
konsultti
consultant
Questions & Answers about Emme enää toimi assistentteina, koska työskentelemme nyt konsultteina.
Why do assistentteina and konsultteina keep the double tt, when other cases like the genitive drop a t?
The essive case is a "strong" case. Unlike the genitive or adessive which trigger the weak consonant grade (giving us words like konsultin or assistentilla), the essive uses the strong consonant grade. Therefore, the strong double tt remains intact in both the singular and plural essive (konsulttina, konsultteina).
Where does the -e- come from before the plural marker in assistentteina and konsultteina?
The base words are assistentti and konsultti. In newer loanwords that end in -i, the final -i changes to an -e- before the plural -i- marker is added (to avoid an awkward double vowel). So, konsultti becomes konsultte- + plural -i- + essive -na, resulting in konsultteina.
Why are the professions in the essive case here?
Both of the verbs used here—toimia (to act as / to serve as) and työskennellä (to work as)—govern the essive case when describing a role or profession. Because the subject "we" is plural (emme, työskentelemme), the roles are put into the plural essive (-ina).
Could I put enää at the end of the first clause, like "Emme toimi assistentteina enää"?
You can, and it would be understood perfectly, but placing enää immediately after the negative verb (emme enää) is the most natural and standard word order in Finnish for expressing "not anymore" or "no longer".
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