Breakdown of En ole kiinnostunut urheilusta.
ei
no / not (en, et, ei, emme, ette, eivät)
urheilu
sports
olla kiinnostunut
to be interested in
Questions & Answers about En ole kiinnostunut urheilusta.
Why does the word for sports end in -sta (urheilusta)? In English we say interested in sports.
In Finnish, the phrase olla kiinnostunut (to be interested) always requires the attached noun to be in the elative case. This means adding -sta or -stä (which usually translates to 'out of'). So instead of being interested 'in' something, Finns are grammatically interested 'out of' it!
English uses the plural 'sports' here, but is urheilusta singular or plural?
It is singular. The base word urheilu refers to sports as a general, uncountable concept. If you used a plural form, it would sound like you are talking about specific, individual sporting events rather than the general concept of sports.
Kiinnostunut ends in -nut, which usually marks a past tense verb. Is it a verb or an adjective here?
It is technically a verb form, specifically the past participle of kiinnostua (to become interested). However, it functions exactly like an adjective in this sentence. Paired with the verb olla (to be), it creates the standard phrase for 'to be interested'.
If I wanted to change the sentence to 'She is not interested', would kiinnostunut change?
No, for any singular subject (I, you, he, she), it stays exactly the same: Hän ei ole kiinnostunut. The word only changes if the subject is plural, for example 'we are not interested' (emme ole kiinnostuneita).
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