Breakdown of Jos olet kyllästynyt vanhoihin paitoihin, voit muokata ne uusiksi laukuiksi.
olla
to be
se
it / he / she (of a person) / that
vanha
old
uusi
new
laukku
bag
paita
shirt
voida
can, to be able to
jos
if
kyllästynyt
fed up
muokata
to modify
Questions & Answers about Jos olet kyllästynyt vanhoihin paitoihin, voit muokata ne uusiksi laukuiksi.
Why is it laukuiksi with a single 'k' instead of two?
The word laukku (bag) undergoes consonant gradation here. To form the translative plural, we take the plural stem laukkui- and add the ending -ksi. Because this ending starts with two consonants, it closes the preceding syllable, triggering the weak consonant grade. The double kk therefore softens to a single k, resulting in laukuiksi.
Why does uusi become uusiksi here?
Adjectives must agree in case and number with the noun they describe. Since the bags (laukuiksi) are in the translative plural case to show a change of state, the adjective must match. The plural stem of uusi is uusi-, and adding the -ksi ending gives us uusiksi.
Why is "old shirts" translated using the illative case (vanhoihin paitoihin)?
This is due to verb government. The verb kyllästyä (to get tired of or bored with) always requires the target noun to be in the illative case. While in English you get tired of something, in Finnish you get tired into something.
Why is the object "them" translated as ne instead of the partitive niitä?
Ne is the plural accusative form (which looks identical to the nominative plural). It is used here as a total object because the action of modifying the shirts into bags is viewed as a complete, finished process. If the action were ongoing or incomplete, you would use the partitive niitä.
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