I dont understand some suffix usage

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tas
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Joined: Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:18 am

I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by tas » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:53 am

Hi,

I've been learning finnish for a while and it's going quite well but I'm having problems about the suffix usage. I will give some examples that could be wrong but these are how I learned usage of these but I've not grasped the full usage of many them:
Kaupasta = from (inside) the store, talosta = from the house, kiitos kahvista = thanks for the coffee? Why is it -sta in kahvista?
Minun kanssa = with me, but minun is also used like minun kissa? which brings me to the next question:
do you say minun kissa, or kissani or minun kissani or in another way?

I wonder if someone would be so kind and give me some example usages for where you use the endings like
minun, minut, minussa, minusta, minuun, minulla, minulta, minulle.

Like Voisinko saada tämä(?) sinulta? Could I get this from you?
Minulla on = I have (something on me)
Ostaisitko jotain minulle kaupasta? = could you buy something for me from the store?

are there other times the endings are used? What are a good way to learn it? I haven't found any examples that can explain why the usage is like it is.

Thank you :)



I dont understand some suffix usage

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ml14
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Jun 23, 2014 7:21 am

Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by ml14 » Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:57 am

tas wrote:Hi,

I've been learning finnish for a while and it's going quite well but I'm having problems about the suffix usage. I will give some examples that could be wrong but these are how I learned usage of these but I've not grasped the full usage of many them:
Kaupasta = from (inside) the store, talosta = from the house, kiitos kahvista = thanks for the coffee? Why is it -sta in kahvista?
Besides "from" and "out of", another meaning of the suffix -sta is "about/regarding". So, "kiitos X:sta" may have originally meant "regarding X, thank you" (this is just my guess).

More generally, though, it's not necessarily a good idea (in terms of language learning) to look for underlying logic in every construction: when I learned the phrase "kiitos X:sta", it wasn't clear to me (at least not right away) why the suffix -sta was used, but I memorized what the phrase meant, and after I had gotten used to seeing/using it, it no longer seemed strange to me.
Minun kanssa = with me, but minun is also used like minun kissa?
The genitive (minun) is the default case used with many prepositions and postpositions, and kanssa is one of these. Another is the postposition luona (e.g., hänen luonaan "at his house", "by his side").

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Pursuivant
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by Pursuivant » Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:09 am

Problem being, minun/mun kanssa, minun/mun kissa is perfectly valid colloquial spoken Finnish.
However, proper written (and tv news) grammatical Finnish is (minun) kanssani (minun)kissani.

The "my" is not needed as it is understood from the suffix. The colloquial adds the "my" but omits the suffix.
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Upphew
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by Upphew » Mon Nov 03, 2014 1:33 pm

tas wrote:I wonder if someone would be so kind and give me some example usages for where you use the endings like
minun, minut, minussa, minusta, minuun, minulla, minulta, minulle.
Minun autoni on Ferrari. - My car is a Ferrari.
Minut tunnistaa autostani. - I am known about my car.
Minussa erikoista on urheiluautoni. - Special about me is my sports car.
Autoveron korotuksella ei ole minuun mitään vaikutusta. - Increase of car tax has no implications on me.
Minulla on tarpeeksi rahaa ostaa bensaa Ferrariini. - I have enough money to buy gas to my Ferrari.
Minulta saa parhaat kyydit, sillä autoni on punainen... ja se on Maranellosta. - I'll give best ride as my car is red... and it is from Maranello.
Minulle on ihan sama mitä ajattelet minusta. - It is same to me what you think about me.

edit. added translation.
Last edited by Upphew on Mon Nov 03, 2014 8:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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tas
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by tas » Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:04 pm

Upphew wrote:
tas wrote:I wonder if someone would be so kind and give me some example usages for where you use the endings like
minun, minut, minussa, minusta, minuun, minulla, minulta, minulle.
Minun autoni on Ferrari.
Minut tunnistaa autostani.
Minussa erikoista on urheiluautoni.
Autoveron korotuksella ei ole minuun mitään vaikutusta.
Minulla on tarpeeksi rahaa ostaa bensaa Ferrariini.
Minulta saa parhaat kyydit, sillä autoni on punainen... ja se on Maranellosta.
Minulle on ihan sama mitä ajattelet minusta.

Thank you, could you translate those too please? I don't understand all the words and google translate is not translating very well :?

tas
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by tas » Mon Nov 03, 2014 5:35 pm

Also how do you say these kind of things:
Can you get that for me?
Can you talk to him for me? (voisitko puhua hänen kanssa minulle?)
I don't have enough money for it (minulla ei on tarpeeksi rahaa sieltä?)

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Keravalainen
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by Keravalainen » Tue Nov 04, 2014 9:29 am

Hi!
Here are some translations for you...

Can you get that for me? - Voitko hakea (t. hankkia) sen minulle?
Can you talk to him for me? - Voitko puhua minun kanssani hänelle?
I don't have enough money for it - Minulla ei ole tarpeeksi rahaa siihen.
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Upphew
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by Upphew » Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:11 am

tas wrote:Can you talk to him for me? (voisitko puhua hänen kanssa minulle?)
I don't have enough money for it (minulla ei on tarpeeksi rahaa sieltä?)
Is the first one meant that someone will act as a reference for you? Or you have made someone mad and need someone to talk on your behalf? Id use something like voisitko puhua puolestani hänelle? Or puhuisitko puolestani hänelle?

I don't have enough money from there - minulla ei ole tarpeeksi rahaa sieltä
I don't have enough money for it - minulla ei ole tarpeeksi rahaa siihen/sitä varten
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AldenG
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by AldenG » Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:52 pm

"Voisitko puhua hänelle (minun) puolestani" would be for me, on my behalf. Kanssani would be (together) with me.
As he persisted, I was obliged to tootle him gently at first and then, seeing no improvement, to trumpet him vigorously with my horn.

AldenG
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Re: I dont understand some suffix usage

Post by AldenG » Tue Nov 04, 2014 3:53 pm

Oops, should have read further.
As he persisted, I was obliged to tootle him gently at first and then, seeing no improvement, to trumpet him vigorously with my horn.


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