Breakdown of Sisustan olohuoneen mieluummin itse kuin palkkaan suunnittelijan.
itse
self, oneself
olohuone
the living room
palkata
to hire
kuin
than / before (in 'ennen kuin') / like / as
mieluummin
rather
suunnittelija
the designer
sisustaa
to decorate (interior design or furnish)
Questions & Answers about Sisustan olohuoneen mieluummin itse kuin palkkaan suunnittelijan.
Notice how the English translation says 'rather decorate... than hire'. Why does the Finnish sentence use two conjugated verbs (sisustan and palkkaan)?
When using mieluummin ... kuin to compare two actions, Finnish requires both verbs to be in the same form. Because the first action (sisustan) is conjugated in the first person singular, the alternative action after kuin must also be conjugated as palkkaan. You cannot use the infinitive for the second verb like we do in English.
Why are the objects olohuoneen and suunnittelijan in the genitive case instead of the partitive?
These are total objects, which indicate complete actions. You intend to decorate the entire living room and hire a complete designer. For standard conjugated verbs, the singular total object takes the accusative case, which looks identical to the genitive ending -n.
Could I use the word paremmin instead of mieluummin to say I like doing it myself 'better'?
No, paremmin strictly means 'better' in terms of skill or quality. When expressing a choice or stating what you would 'rather' or 'more willingly' do, you must use mieluummin. It is the comparative form of the adverb mielellään (gladly).
What dictates the placement of itse in this sentence?
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