Learn how to compare adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to FinnishPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 5 - How Do You Like Your Chances in Finland? Eric here. |
| Päivi: Hei! I'm Päivi. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use comparative adjectives. The conversation takes place on the phone. |
| Päivi: It's between Vilja and Aino. |
| Eric: The speakers are friends, so they’ll use informal Finnish. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Aino: Hei Vilja! Miten työhaastattelu meni? Oliko haastattelija mukava? |
| Vilja: Moi Aino! Hmm, meni se varmaan ihan hyvin. Haastattelija oli ihan mukava ja rento. |
| Aino: Milloin saat tietää, onko paikka sinun? |
| Vilja: Loppuviikosta. En tosin ole yhtään varma onko minulla mahdollisuuksia.. |
| Aino: Kuinka niin? |
| Vilja: No, muut hakijat ovat varmaan nuorempia tai ainakin kokeneempia, kuin minä. |
| Aino: Älä murehdi. Olen varma, että saat paikan. Olet iloisin ja mukavin ihminen, kenet tunnen! |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Aino: Hi Vilja! How was the job interview? Was the interviewer nice? |
| Vilja: Hi Aino! Hmm, I suppose it went ok. The interviewer was quite nice and relaxed. |
| Aino: When will you know if the position is yours? |
| Vilja: At the end of the week. However I'm not sure at all if I have a chance... |
| Aino: How come? |
| Vilja: Well, all the other applicants are probably younger or at least more experienced than me. |
| Aino: Don't worry. I'm sure you'll get the job. You're the happiest and nicest person I know! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Päivi, in many countries competition has become entertainment through TV shows, and the topic comes up in situations other than job interviews. What about Finland? |
| Päivi: There is a similar trend in Finland, and reality TV and different competitions have become very popular. We have our own versions of many international reality TV formats, and new shows are introduced every year. |
| Eric: Which are the most popular? |
| Päivi: One popular type of show is music competitions. Idols and the Voice of Finland have become popular because anyone could rise to fame via these shows. In the past few years, a program called Vain Elämää, meaning "Only Life," has become extremely popular. |
| Eric: This was modeled on a Dutch format right? |
| Päivi: Yes, but there are also many original programs such as Kandit, which focuses on young doctors about to enter work life, and various shows about different kinds of mothers and their lives. |
| Eric: But what's the most popular show? |
| Päivi: It's the Independence Day Ball, which is broadcast live every year from the Presidential Palace on Finnish independence day. It's a popular pastime for viewers to watch who is attending the ball, and to criticise the evening gowns worn by the guests. |
| Eric: Listeners, if you want to know more about Finnish TV shows, be sure to check the Lesson Notes. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Päivi: mukava [natural native speed] |
| Eric: nice |
| Päivi: mukava[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: mukava [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: mahdollisuus [natural native speed] |
| Eric: chance |
| Päivi: mahdollisuus[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: mahdollisuus [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: hakija [natural native speed] |
| Eric: applicant |
| Päivi: hakija[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: hakija [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: varmaan [natural native speed] |
| Eric: probably |
| Päivi: varmaan[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: varmaan [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: nuori [natural native speed] |
| Eric: young |
| Päivi: nuori[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: nuori [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Päivi: kokenut [natural native speed] |
| Eric: experienced |
| Päivi: kokenut[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: kokenut [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last... |
| Päivi: murehtia [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to worry |
| Päivi: murehtia[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Päivi: murehtia [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first phrase is.. |
| Päivi: olla varma |
| Eric: meaning "to be sure." You can use this expression when you want to express that someone is sure of something. |
| Päivi: Right. If you want to say the opposite, so not being sure of something, just add the negative verb ei, meaning "no" or "not," in front of the phrase, keeping in mind the correct personal conjugation. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using the phrase in the affirmative version? |
| Päivi: Sure. For example, you can say.. Olen varma, että voitan tällä kerralla. |
| Eric: ..which means "I am sure that I am going to win this time." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Päivi: varmaan |
| Eric: meaning "probably." |
| Päivi: This word is derived from the word varma, which means "sure," "certain," or "secure." |
| Eric: You can use this word whenever you want to express probability, but are not completely sure. Can you give us an example? |
| Päivi: Sure. For example, you can say.. Ruoka on varmaan jo valmista. |
| Eric: .. which means "The food is surely done by now." |
| Päivi: Please keep in mind that the word varmaan has a slightly doubtful tone to it, so if you want to say something is without a doubt something, you can say varmasti, |
| Eric: which means "surely," "definitely," or "absolutely." Okay, what's the next word? |
| Päivi: murehtia |
| Eric: meaning "to worry." |
| Päivi: This word is derived from the noun murhe, which means "sorrow" or "grief." |
| Eric: You can use this verb whenever you want to say that someone is worrying over something. |
| Päivi: Despite the origin of the verb murehtia, it’s not the same as "to mourn" or "to grieve" and the meaning is less severe. When you want to say someone is mourning, you can use the verb surra instead. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using the first word? |
| Päivi: Sure. For example, you can say.. Älä murehdi menneistä. |
| Eric: .. which means "Don't worry about the past." Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you'll learn how to use comparative adjectives. Comparatives are special forms of adjectives. We use them to compare two or more things. |
| Päivi: In this lesson we'll explain some of the rules for forming regular comparatives. |
| Eric: The ‘positive’ is the basic form of an adjective, which tells us what kind of thing something or someone is. The comparative form expresses a comparison between two or more entities. |
| Päivi: The Finnish comparative can be recognized from the -mpi suffix. The comparative suffix and the case suffix following it are added to the stem of the adjective. |
| Eric: Sometimes the last letter of the stem has to be removed. |
| Päivi: It's removed in these three cases – firstly, if the last letter is an ‘i'; secondly, if the stem ends with two vowels; and thirdly, if the stem contains three or more syllables and ends with a or ä. |
| Eric: Let’s see a practical example. |
| Päivi: Pieni meaning “small,” becomes pienempi and nopea, meaning “fast,” becomes nopeampi. |
| Eric: So "smaller" and "faster." Let’s try to give some simple examples. |
| Päivi: Anna on pidempi kuin Emma. |
| Eric: “Anna is taller than Emma” |
| Päivi: Olen nuorempi kuin sinä. |
| Eric: “I am younger than you”. Ok, let’s switch to the superlative form. Let’s remind everyone that superlatives are used to compare more than two things. |
| Päivi: In Finnish, the superlative can be identified by the -in suffix in the nominative and partitive cases, which is added to the stem of the adjective. |
| Eric: There are three rules in this case too. |
| Päivi: Right. The last ‘a’, ‘ä’, or ‘e’ in the stem is removed, for example halpa, “cheap,” becomes halvin |
| Eric: Which means “cheapest." |
| Päivi: The second rule is that ‘i’ and ‘ii’ in the stem change into ‘e’, for example nätti, “pretty,” becomes nätein. |
| Eric: “the prettiest” |
| Päivi: Finally, if there are two of the same vowels in the stem, one is removed, so rikas meaning “rich,” becomes rikkain. |
| Eric: Meaning "the richest." As always, there are some exceptions to these rules. |
| Päivi: Right, for example hyvä, which means “good,” becomes parempi in the comparative form and paras in the superlative. |
| Eric: Let’s wrap up this lesson with some sample sentences. |
| Päivi: Naapurin koira on isompi kuin sinun koirasi. |
| Eric: "The neighbor's dog is bigger than your dog." |
| Päivi: Sinisen joukkueen juoksijat ovat nopeampia kuin punaisen joukkueen juoksijat. |
| Eric: "The blue team's runners are faster than the red team's runners." |
| Päivi: Hän on viisain mies, jonka koskaan olen tavannut. |
| Eric: "He is the wisest man that I have ever met." |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Päivi: Hei hei! |
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