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Questions & Answers about Älä varasta rahaa.
Why is älä used here instead of just putting ei before the verb?
Because Finnish forms negative commands differently from ordinary negative statements.
- ei is used for normal negation in statements:
- En varasta rahaa. = I am not stealing / I do not steal money.
- älä is the special negative auxiliary for a singular command:
- Älä varasta rahaa. = Don’t steal money.
So älä specifically means don’t when you are telling one person not to do something.
Why is the verb varasta and not varastaa?
The basic dictionary form is varastaa = to steal.
In this sentence, the verb is in the imperative form, used for commands. For many -aa/-ää verbs, the singular imperative drops the final -a/-ä of the infinitive:
- varastaa → varasta! = steal!
- maksaa → maksa! = pay!
- auttaa → auta! = help!
In a negative command, that same imperative main verb appears after älä:
- Älä varasta. = Don’t steal.
So varastaa is the infinitive, and varasta is the command form.