Breakdown of Useat lapset katsoivat, kun seisoimme sermin takana neljästään.
seisoa
to stand
lapsi
child
katsoa
to watch
takana
behind
kun
when (conjunction)
usea
several
sermi
screen (room divider)
neljästään
the four of us / the four of them
Questions & Answers about Useat lapset katsoivat, kun seisoimme sermin takana neljästään.
What exactly does the suffix -stään in neljästään mean here?
This is an adverb of exclusive group size. It combines the number neljä (four), the elative case ending -stä (from/out of), and the third-person possessive suffix -än. Together, they form a fixed adverb meaning 'as a group of exactly four' or 'the four of us alone'.
Since the verb is seisoimme (we stood), why doesn't neljästään take the 'we' possessive suffix (neljästäämme)?
That is a very sharp observation! While it might seem logical to match the person, these exclusive group adverbs almost always use the fossilized third-person suffix (-an/-än) in modern standard Finnish, regardless of who the subject is. The verb seisoimme provides all the context needed to know it means 'the four of us'.
Why is the word for screen (sermi) in the genitive case (sermin)?
The word takana (behind) is a postposition. In Finnish, postpositions almost always require the noun preceding them to be in the genitive case. Therefore, sermi gets the -n ending to become sermin.
The verb katsoivat is just standard past tense. Why is it translated as the continuous 'were watching'?
Finnish does not have a separate continuous past tense structure like English does. It relies heavily on context instead. Because the children's watching was an ongoing background event happening at the same time as the standing (kun seisoimme), the continuous 'were watching' is the most accurate English translation.
Could I use monet lapset instead of useat lapset here?
Yes, they are very similar in this context. Usea (plural useat) typically translates to 'several' or 'a number of', while moni (plural monet) translates to 'many'. Useat often implies a slightly smaller or more distinctly counted group than monet, but in everyday speech they are largely interchangeable.
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