Avain ei sovi uuteen lukkoon.

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Breakdown of Avain ei sovi uuteen lukkoon.

• ei: not
• avain: the key
• lukko: the lock

Questions & Answers about Avain ei sovi uuteen lukkoon.

Why is ei placed before sovi, and how do you form the negative in Finnish?

In Finnish, you form the negative present tense by using the negative auxiliary ei (for third person singular) followed by the main verb in its stem form, without personal endings. So instead of sopii (“it fits”), you say ei sovi (“it does not fit”).

Why does the verb appear as sovi instead of sopia or sopii?

After ei, you always use the verb stem. The infinitive is sopia, whose stem is sopi-. In the positive third person you add -i- plus the personal ending to get sopii, but in negative sentences you drop all endings and simply say ei + sovi (stem + regular vowel adjustment).

What case is uuteen lukkoon, and why is it used here?

Uuteen lukkoon is in the illative case (singular). The illative expresses movement “into” or “to the inside of” something. Since a key must be inserted into the lock, the lock is marked with the illative:
– uusi (“new”) → uuteen (illative)
– lukko (“lock”) → lukkoon (illative)

How exactly do you form the illative singular of uusi and lukko?