Moi Corinna! :smile:
"Minkä" is the genitive and genitive-looking accusative form of "mikä".
It's also an interrogative, meaning 'what', 'which'. For example:
"Minkä eläimen sinä näit metsässä?" - 'Which animal did you see in the forest?'
"Minkä takia sinä myöhästyit?" - 'For what reason were you late?'
It's also a relative word, meaning 'what', 'which',or 'that'. For example:
"Se on paras elokuva, minkä olen koskaan nähnyt." - 'It is the best film that I have ever seen.'
"Vauva itki koko yön, minkä vuoksi en saanut nukuttua." - 'The baby was crying all night, which is why I couldn't sleep.'
When you add -kä suffix to 'ei', it becomes of course "eikä", and these together, i.e. ei-eikä, mean nor-neither.
"Minulla ei ole kissaa eikä koiraa.- I don't have a cat or a dog. I have neither cat nor dog.
When you add it to the negation "ei", it can be conjugated in persons, and it becomes "ja...enkä/etkä/eikä/emmekä/ettekä/eivätkä" ('and..I don't/you don't/s/he doesn't...")
En halua nähdä sinua enkä kuulla sinusta mitään. - I don't want to see you and I don't want to hear anything about you.
Miksi sinä et siivonnut etkä käynyt kaupassa? - Why didn't you clean or go to the store?
Anna ei osaa lukea eikä kirjottaa. - Anna doesn't know how to read or write.
"Eikä" can be used also as an expression to say "No way!!" ("Ostin eilen koiran"- "Eikä!!" > 'I bought a dog yesterday." - 'No way!!"),
and "enkä" is kind of childish way to refuse something ("Mene nukkumaan." - "Enkä!!" > "Go to bed." - "No I won't!!")
Best Wishes, parhain terveisin,
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
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Haha, it's okay Päivi. :wink: I'm sure I'll make plenty of mistakes like then once I start actually speaking Finnish more. :laughing:
Moi Corinna!
Yeah I think us Finns often confuse 'what', 'that' and also 'which' when we speak English... :grin: :flushed:
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
Hei Päivi,
Oh, okay, I think I get it. :grin: Maybe that's why a lot of Finns say "what" instead of "that" when they speak English. ("It was something what I didn't think of" instead of "It was something that I didn't think of" and things like that.) Germans do that too. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
Haha, okay, that makes sense. :grin:
Moi Corinna! :smile:
"Minkä" is the genitive and genitive-looking accusative form of "mikä".
It's also an interrogative, meaning 'what', 'which'. For example:
"Minkä eläimen sinä näit metsässä?" - 'Which animal did you see in the forest?'
"Minkä takia sinä myöhästyit?" - 'For what reason were you late?'
It's also a relative word, meaning 'what', 'which',or 'that'. For example:
"Se on paras elokuva, minkä olen koskaan nähnyt." - 'It is the best film that I have ever seen.'
"Vauva itki koko yön, minkä vuoksi en saanut nukuttua." - 'The baby was crying all night, which is why I couldn't sleep.'
When you add -kä suffix to 'ei', it becomes of course "eikä", and these together, i.e. ei-eikä, mean nor-neither.
"Minulla ei ole kissaa eikä koiraa.- I don't have a cat or a dog. I have neither cat nor dog.
When you add it to the negation "ei", it can be conjugated in persons, and it becomes "ja...enkä/etkä/eikä/emmekä/ettekä/eivätkä" ('and..I don't/you don't/s/he doesn't...")
En halua nähdä sinua enkä kuulla sinusta mitään. - I don't want to see you and I don't want to hear anything about you.
Miksi sinä et siivonnut etkä käynyt kaupassa? - Why didn't you clean or go to the store?
Anna ei osaa lukea eikä kirjottaa. - Anna doesn't know how to read or write.
"Eikä" can be used also as an expression to say "No way!!" ("Ostin eilen koiran"- "Eikä!!" > 'I bought a dog yesterday." - 'No way!!"),
and "enkä" is kind of childish way to refuse something ("Mene nukkumaan." - "Enkä!!" > "Go to bed." - "No I won't!!")
Best Wishes, parhain terveisin,
Päivi
Team FinnishPod101.com
I think I probably already know the answer, at least somewhat, but; Why is "Minkä" used instead of "mitä" or "mikä"? And what exactly does adding "-ka/kä" to words do? (i.e. "enkä" or "eikä")