Partitive vs. Accusative
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etsiä jtk vs. etsiä jkn
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Etsin kirjaani laatikosta. I
looked for my book in the drawer. I was looking for my book in the
drawer. I'll look for my book in the drawer. I am looking for
my book in the drawer.
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Etsin häntä. I was
looking for him. I looked for him. I'll look for him.
I am looking for him.
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Etsin hänet käsiini. I'll
go and look for him. I'll go find him. (NB. This can
only be in the future tense! If you managed to find him, you would
say Löysin hänet.)
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Things to note with this verb:
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With etsiä jtk, the verb can be
used in all the tenses, but with etsiä jkn it can only be used
with the future tense and can also not be used in the negative.
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kuulla jtk vs. kuulla jkn
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Kuulin musiikkia. I heard music.
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Kuulin räjähdyksen.
I heard
an explosion.
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Things to note with this verb:
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Use the partitive
when the thing is uncountable and the accusative when you can count them.
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iskeä jtk vs. iskeä jkn
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Iskin häntä. I hit
him. I hit on him.
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Iskin hänet. I hit on him
(and succeeded).
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Things to note with this verb:
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In negative sentences, it is only with context
that we can tell which one of these occurred!
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Löin hänet. I defeated
him
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Löin hänet ritariksi.
I knighted him.
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Things to note with this verb:
-
In negative sentences, it is only with context
that we can tell which one of these occurred!
©1999 Kimberli Mäkäräinen
All Rights Reserved.