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Questions & Answers about Keitto maistuu hyvältä.
Why does hyvältä end in -ltä? Why not just hyvä?
Finnish uses the ablative case (-lta/-ltä) with sensory/appearance verbs to express “it tastes/looks/sounds/feels like X.” With maistua (to taste), the complement takes the ablative:
- hyvä
- -ltä → hyvältä (“good to the taste”)
- By vowel harmony, hyvä takes -ltä (not -lta).
Breakdown of the sentence:
- Keitto = soup (nominative subject)
- maistuu = tastes (3rd person singular, present)
- hyvältä = good (ablative singular)
More examples of the same pattern:
- pahalta (bad), makealta (sweet), suolaiselta (salty), kanalta (like chicken)
What’s the difference between maistuu and maistaa?
- maistua is intransitive: “to taste (like).” The thing being tasted is the subject.
- Example: Keitto maistuu hyvältä. (The soup tastes good.)
- maistaa is transitive: “to taste (something).” The taster is the subject; the thing tasted is the object/partitive.
- Examples: Maista keittoa! (Taste the soup!) / Maistoin keittoa. (I tasted some soup.)
Can I say hyvälle instead of hyvältä after maistuu?
In standard Finnish, with maistua the complement is ablative: use -lta/-ltä → hyvältä. You may hear hyvälle in colloquial speech, but stick to hyvältä for correct, neutral usage, especially in writing.
How do I say “It tastes like X,” e.g., “The soup tastes like chicken”?
Put X in the ablative:
- Keitto maistuu kanalta. (tastes like chicken)
- Tämä maistuu valkosipulilta. (tastes like garlic)
- Kastike maistuu sitruunalta. (tastes like lemon)
How do I say “It tastes good to me”?
Two common ways, with a nuance difference:
- Perception/opinion phrasing: Minusta keitto maistuu hyvältä. or Keitto maistuu minusta hyvältä.
- Suits my taste/appeal (often about appetite): Keitto maistuu minulle. You can also combine: Keitto maistuu minulle hyvältä.
Why is there no article (“the”) before Keitto?
Finnish has no articles. Keitto can mean “soup,” “the soup,” or “a soup,” depending on context. The context tells you whether it’s a specific soup or soup in general.
Why is the subject Keitto in the nominative and not keittoa?
Because keitto is the grammatical subject of an intransitive verb (maistua). Finnish uses a nominative subject in such sentences. The partitive subject appears in specific clause types (e.g., existential “there is/are” statements or with certain aspectual meanings), which this is not.
Can I say Keitto maistuu hyvin?
Be careful. Hyvin means “well,” not “good.”
- Keitto maistuu hyvältä describes the taste quality.
- Keitto maistuu hyvin is used idiomatically to mean “the soup goes down well / I’m enjoying eating it,” not to describe the flavor itself. For flavor quality, prefer hyvältä.
Can I change the word order for emphasis?
Yes. Finnish word order is flexible for emphasis or topic–comment structure:
- Neutral: Keitto maistuu hyvältä.
- Emphasizing how it tastes: Hyvältä keitto maistuu.
- Emphasizing the subject: Keitto hyvältä maistuu (poetic/marked).
Meaning stays the same; nuance changes with focus.
How do I negate it?
Use the negative verb ei and the connegative form maistu:
- Keitto ei maistu hyvältä. (The soup doesn’t taste good.) You can intensify:
- Keitto ei maistu lainkaan/ollenkaan hyvältä. (…not at all good.)
- Minulle ei keitto maistu. (Soup doesn’t appeal to me / I don’t feel like soup.)
How do I put it in the past or present perfect?
- Past (imperfect): Keitto maistui hyvältä. (tasted good)
- Present perfect: Keitto on maistunut hyvältä. (has tasted good)
- Past perfect: Keitto oli maistunut hyvältä. (had tasted good)
What about plural subjects?
Use the plural verb, and the complement can be singular ablative or plural ablative (both occur; plural agreement is common):
- Keitot maistuvat hyvältä.
- Keitot maistuvat hyviltä.
How do I ask “What does the soup taste like?”
Use the ablative question word miltä:
- Miltä keitto maistuu? (What does the soup taste like?) Answer with an ablative: Se maistuu hyvältä/kanalta/makealta.
What’s the difference between Keitto maistuu hyvältä and Keitto on hyvää?
- Keitto maistuu hyvältä explicitly talks about taste using the sensory verb.
- Keitto on hyvää is a general evaluation “the soup is good (to eat),” with hyvää (partitive) commonly used for food/drink assessments. Both are natural; the first foregrounds the sensory verb “taste.”
Pronunciation tips?
- maistuu: diphthong ai as in “eye,” and long uu (hold it: mai-stuu).
- hyvältä: front vowel y (rounded), ä (front open), and the consonant cluster -lt- across the syllable boundary: hy-väl-ta.