Breakdown of Uusi kone vapauttaa aikaa muuhun työhön.
uusi
new
aika
time (concept, duration)
työ
work
muu
other, else
kone
machine
vapauttaa
to free, to release
Questions & Answers about Uusi kone vapauttaa aikaa muuhun työhön.
How does the -uttaa suffix function in vapauttaa? The lesson says it means having someone else do an action.
While the -uttaa / -yttää suffix often means having someone else perform a verb (like korjauttaa, to have something repaired), it works slightly differently when attached to an adjective. Here, it attaches to the adjective vapaa (free). When added to adjectives or nouns, this suffix makes a causative verb meaning to make something have that quality. Thus, vapauttaa simply means to make free, or to liberate.
What is the difference between vapauttaa and the similar-looking verb vapautua?
Vapauttaa is a transitive causative verb, meaning it needs an object: the machine (subject) frees up time (object). Vapautua uses the reflexive -utua suffix and is intransitive. If you wanted to say the time itself becomes free without mentioning the machine causing it, you would use vapautua: Aikaa vapautuu muuhun työhön (Time frees up for other work).
Why is the object aikaa in the partitive case here?
It is in the partitive because time is an uncountable, abstract concept in this context. The machine frees up an unspecified amount of time. If it freed up a specific, total amount of time (for example, a specific hour you just discussed), it would take the total object case instead.
Why is muuhun työhön in the illative (into) case when the English translation says for other work?
In Finnish, the illative case is frequently used to express the target, purpose, or intended use of a resource. Instead of freeing time for the work, Finnish conceptually directs or frees that time into the work.
Learn Uusi kone vapauttaa aikaa muuhun työhön and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free