Questions & Answers about Pudonnut avain on lattialla.
What does pudonnut literally mean, and why isn’t it just pudota?
Pudota is the basic verb “to fall.”
Pudonnut is its active past participle form and literally means “(that has) fallen” or “having fallen.”
So:
- pudota = to fall
- pudonnut = fallen / has fallen
In Pudonnut avain on lattialla, you need a form that can describe the noun avain (key), like an adjective: “the fallen key / the key that has fallen.” The bare verb pudota cannot directly modify a noun, but pudonnut can.
Is pudonnut avain more like “fallen key” or “the key that has fallen”?
Both are good ways to understand it:
- pudonnut avain = “the fallen key”
- also = “the key that has fallen”
Grammatically, pudonnut is an adjective-like participle modifying avain, so English can translate it either as an adjective (fallen) or a relative clause (that has fallen). The meaning is the same: a key which has undergone the action of falling.
How does pudonnut agree with avain? What happens in the plural?