Pyyhe ei kuivu nopeasti, jos ilma on kostea.

to be

Breakdown of Pyyhe ei kuivu nopeasti, jos ilma on kostea.

• ilma: the air
• pyyhe: the towel
• jos: if

Questions & Answers about Pyyhe ei kuivu nopeasti, jos ilma on kostea.

Why is it ei kuivu and not ei kuivuu?

Because Finnish negative sentences use a special pattern:

• the negative verb carries the person: ei
• the main verb appears in a short form without the personal ending: kuivu

So:

• Positive: Pyyhe kuivuu nopeasti. = The towel dries quickly.
• Negative: Pyyhe ei kuivu nopeasti. = The towel does not dry quickly.

So ei kuivuu is not correct. After ei, you use kuivu, not kuivuu.

What is the dictionary form of kuivu?

The dictionary form is kuivua, meaning to dry or to become dry.

In this sentence, kuivu is not the dictionary form. It is the form used after the negative verb ei.

A few useful forms are:

• kuivua = to dry, to become dry
• kuivuu = dries
• ei kuivu = does not dry

Why is the verb kuivua used here instead of kuivata?