Ok… a possibly heavy question coming up.
Why does an imperative have a weak consonant? Is there some secret forgotten closed ending on the verb?
Example:
kirjoittaa = to write
kirjoitan = I write (-n is a closed ending, so tt -> t)
he kirjoittivat = they wrote (-vat = open, so tt is ok)
but…
kirjoita! = write!
On this word, there is no ending, so I would assume tt not t.
Aha
Ok… while writing this, I’ve discovered the answer for myself, but I’ll leave it here for my own memory…
So, it seems that an imperative ends in -k BUT the -k has been lost over time. So you have:
kirjoitak – closed syllable, therefore tt -> t
...and miss the k, gives…
kirjoita
So I guess my original question “Is there some secret forgotten closed ending on the verb?” was absolutely spot on.
I’m quite pleased with myself, because I spotted this from changing my google mail into Finnish, and at the bottom it said “Hanki Google Mail puhelimeesi. Se on erittäin nopea.”
I couldn’t find the dictionary form for Hanki, then discovered it was Hankkia… and that’s how it all started.
