Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about He pakenivat tulta.
Why does the sentence begin with He? Doesn’t that mean he in English?
No. Finnish he means they.
A few useful comparisons:
- hän = he / she (singular person)
- he = they (plural people)
So in this sentence, He pakenivat tulta, He is the plural subject: they.
It is only capitalized because it is the first word of the sentence.
What is the basic form of pakenivat?
The dictionary form is paeta, meaning to flee, to escape, or to run away from.
So:
- paeta = to flee
- pakenivat = they fled / they were fleeing
This is one of those verbs where the stem changes a bit when it is conjugated, so the forms are not built from pae- in a very transparent way.
How is pakenivat formed?