# stop (doing something)



## Gavril

Päivääpä,

How would you translate the English verb "stop" in the following contexts?

_
He stopped whistling for a moment, but then started again as soon as the other people had left the room. _(explicitly temporary)_

He stopped whistling when I called to him. _(no indication of when/whether he will start again)_

He stopped whistling in the house because it irritated his wife._ (he completely gave up doing it)


My understanding is that _lakata_ and _lopettaa_ sometimes work as a translation of "stop" -- is there a difference of meaning (or frequency) between the two verbs?

Kiitoksia paljon


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## DrWatson

I would say _lakata_ and _lopettaa_ are more or less synonymous, at least in this regard. Neither of them imply whether the action stopped for good or just temporarily. _Lakata_ is rarer in spoken language.



Gavril said:


> _He stopped whistling for a moment, but then started again as soon as the other people had left the room. = _'Hän lakkasi viheltämästä ~ lopetti viheltämisen hetkeksi, mutta aloitti heti uudestaan muiden lähdettyä huoneesta.'_
> 
> He stopped whistling when I called to him. = _'Hän lakkasi viheltämästä ~ lopetti viheltämisen, kun kutsuin häntä.'_
> 
> He stopped whistling in the house because it irritated his wife. = _'Hän lakkasi kokonaan/täysin viheltämästä kotona, koska se ärsytti hänen vaimoaan.' or 'Hän lopetti kokonaan/täysin kotona viheltämisen, koska...'


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## Gavril

Thanks, DrW. For whatever reason, the WSOY dictionary gives _pysähytyä_, _pitää tauko _or _tauota _as translations of the verb "pause" (= to temporarily stop), but doesn't mention _lakata_ or _lopettaa_, so I wasn't sure if they could be used in the first sentence.


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## DrWatson

Oh, I see._ Pitää tauko_ could be used in the first sentence to mean "take a break": 'Hän piti tauon viheltämisestä, mutta...'

_Pysähtyä_ and _tauota_ are intransitive, _tauota_ means 'stop for a moment' (derived from _tauko_):

_Musiikki taukosi_ (_hetkeksi_), _mutta jatkui heti poliisien lähdettyä_.


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## Gavril

Another question: what if the subject is inanimate?

For example,

_The wind stopped blowing for a moment, and then started again.
_
_The tree stopped growing after reaching a height of 20 meters._

How could you translate "stop" in these contexts?

Kiitos vielä kerran


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## Hakro

Gavril said:


> _The wind stopped blowing for a moment, and then started again.
> _
> _The tree stopped growing after reaching a height of 20 meters._
> 
> How could you translate "stop" in these contexts?


I'd say that _lakkasi_ would work well in both sentences.


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