Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Start learning Finnish now
Questions & Answers about Lapsi kasvaa nopeasti.
Why is lapsi in the nominative case?
lapsi is the subject of the sentence. In Finnish, the subject of both transitive and intransitive verbs takes the nominative case. The nominative singular of lapsi is simply lapsi.
Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like hän before kasvaa?
Finnish often omits the personal pronoun because the verb ending already shows person and number. Here kasvaa ends in -a, indicating 3rd person singular (“he/she/it”), so you don’t need to add hän.
What does kasvaa mean, and how does it differ from kasvata?
kasvaa is an intransitive verb meaning to grow (for example, the child grows).
kasvata is the causative, transitive form meaning to raise or to cultivate (for example, I raise children or he cultivates wheat).
How do you form the 3rd person singular present tense of kasvaa?
kasvaa belongs to type I verbs (infinitive ending -a/-ä). You drop the infinitive -a, giving the stem kasva-, then add the 3rd person singular ending -a. The result is kasvaa (with a long “aa”).
How can you tell that kasvaa is a finite verb form and not just the infinitive?
For type I verbs the infinitive (dictionary form) and the 3rd person singular present tense look identical. You rely on context: here it’s part of a full clause with a nominative subject (lapsi), so it must be the finite verb grows, not the infinitive to grow.
What does nopeasti mean, and how is it formed from the adjective nopea?
nopeasti is an adverb meaning quickly or rapidly. You form it by dropping the adjective’s final -a (in nopea) and adding the adverbial suffix -sti:
nopea → nopea- + ‑sti = nopeasti
Why can’t you use the adjective nopea to modify the verb instead of nopeasti?
Adjectives in Finnish modify nouns, not verbs. To describe how an action happens, you must use an adverb. Lapsi kasvaa nopea would be ungrammatical because nopea expects to describe a noun.
Is the word order fixed? Could you place nopeasti before kasvaa?
Finnish allows fairly flexible word order for emphasis or style. You could say Lapsi nopeasti kasvaa, but the neutral, most common order is Lapsi kasvaa nopeasti (subject–verb–adverb).
How would you say the same idea in the past tense?
Use the past tense form kasvoi instead of kasvaa:
Lapsi kasvoi nopeasti.
(“The child grew quickly.”)
How do you turn this statement into a yes/no question?
Attach the question particle -ko/-kö to the verb and invert the order:
Kasvaako lapsi nopeasti?
(“Does the child grow quickly?”)
How would you express this sentence in the plural?
Pluralize both subject and verb:
Lapset kasvavat nopeasti.
(“Children grow quickly.”)
How is Lapsi kasvaa nopeasti pronounced?
In IPA: /ˈlɑp.si ˈkɑs.vɑː ˈno.pe.ɑs.ti/
Rough English-style respelling: LAP-see KAH-svaa NOH-peh-AHS-tee
