Questions & Answers about Poika juoksee puun taakse.
Why is "tree" written as puun instead of just puu?
In Finnish, words like "behind", "in front of", or "next to" are usually postpositions, meaning they come after the word they refer to. When using a postposition, the main word must be in the genitive case (the -n ending, which often translates to "'s"). So, "behind the tree" is built like "the tree's behind" (puun taakse).
Why do we use taakse for "behind" instead of takana?
Finnish is very specific about movement. Takana means you are currently staying behind something (location). Taakse means you are moving to a place behind something (destination). Because the boy is running to that spot, we must use the destination form taakse.
If taakse means moving to behind the tree, how would I say he is running from behind the tree?
You would use the word takaa. Finnish location words often come in sets of three: taakse (moving to behind), takana (staying behind), and takaa (moving from behind).
What is the dictionary form of the verb juoksee?
The base form is juosta (to run). It is a Type 3 verb, which means the -sta ending changes to -kse- before adding the personal ending (in this case, an extra -e because it is a "he/she/it" doing the action).
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