Katso näyttämöä tarkasti ja kerro, miltä se näyttää.

Look at the stage carefully and tell me what it looks like.

Breakdown of Katso näyttämöä tarkasti ja kerro, miltä se näyttää.

• ja: and
• se: it
• kertoa: to tell
• katsoa: to look
• näyttämö: the stage
• näyttää: to look

Questions & Answers about Katso näyttämöä tarkasti ja kerro, miltä se näyttää.

What does katso mean and why is it in the imperative form?

Katso is the imperative form of the verb katsoa, which means “to look.” In this sentence, it functions as a command telling the listener to look at the stage.

Why is näyttämöä in the partitive case rather than the accusative?

In Finnish, many verbs—especially those related to perception like katsoa—often take their objects in the partitive case to indicate an ongoing or incomplete action. Here, näyttämöä is in the partitive to emphasize that the instruction is to look at (or observe) the stage without implying a complete, one-time examination.

What role does the adverb tarkasti play in the sentence?

Tarkasti means “carefully” and acts as an adverb modifying the verb katso. It tells the listener to look at the stage in a careful or attentive manner.

What does kerro mean, and how is it used in this sentence?

Kerro is the imperative form of kertoa, which means “to tell” or “to describe.” It instructs the listener to communicate their observations about the stage after looking at it.

How is the phrase miltä se näyttää structured, and what does it mean?

The phrase miltä se näyttää translates to “what does it look like?” Miltä is an interrogative form used to ask about appearance, se is the pronoun “it” (referring back to the stage), and näyttää means “to look” or “to appear.” Together, the phrase asks for a description of the stage’s appearance.

Why is there a comma before miltä se näyttää in the sentence?

The comma separates the imperative command kerro from the following indirect question miltä se näyttää. This punctuation helps clarify the sentence’s structure by marking the pause between the command and the request for a description.

Why is the pronoun se used in miltä se näyttää instead of repeating näyttämö?

Using se avoids redundancy. After mentioning näyttämö earlier in the sentence, it’s natural in Finnish to refer back to it with the pronoun se, keeping the sentence concise and smooth.

Why is there no explicit subject (such as “you”) in this command sentence?

Finnish often omits explicit subjects because the verb endings already indicate who is being addressed. Here, the imperative forms katso and kerro clearly imply that the listener (“you”) is the subject, so there’s no need to mention it explicitly.