# askarruttaa / hämmentää



## Gavril

Which would be more appropriate in the following contexts?

_Sanoi paljon __askarruttavia/hämmentäviä asioita, __enkä voinut saada selville, mitä hän tarkoitti._

_Kurssi askarrutti/hämmensi minua, enkä saanut hyvää arvosanaa.

Elämä askarruttaa/hämmentää minua.
_
Kiitos


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## Grumpy Old Man

You need a subject for the first sentence: *Hän*_ sanoi...

_To my mind both verbs are equally appropriate in all the sentences. The difference lies in their meanings. _Askarruttaa_ implies that something makes one think and wonder (to puzzle): _Her attitude puzzles me. Hänen asenteensa askarruttaa minua._

_Hämmentää_ indicates confusion of the mind caused by something (to perplex/to confuse): _The profusion of the rules confused me. Sääntöjen suuri määrä hämmensi minua.

_GOM


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## Gavril

Grumpy Old Man said:


> You need a subject for the first sentence: *Hän*_ sanoi...
> _



To clarify that _paljon _isn't the subject of the clause?


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## Grumpy Old Man

Gavril said:


> To clarify that _paljon _isn't the subject of the clause?


No, of course not. Compare the English: _*He* said many confusing things. He _is the subject. _Paljon_ can be considered to be a part of the object _paljon hämmentäviä asioita. Paljon_ doesn't do the saying.

GOM


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## Gavril

Grumpy Old Man said:


> No, of course not. Compare the English: _*He* said many confusing things. He _is the subject. _Paljon_ can be considered to be a part of the object _paljon hämmentäviä asioita. Paljon_ doesn't do the saying.
> 
> GOM



Right, but I was wondering why you said that I needed to include _hän_ in the sentence _Sanoi pajon_ _hämmentäviä_ _asioita._ Can't you leave out subject pronouns (_hän, minä _etc.) in most Finnish sentences without affecting the clarity of the sentence?


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## Grumpy Old Man

Gavril said:


> Can't you leave out subject pronouns (_hän, minä _etc.) in most Finnish sentences without affecting the clarity of the sentence?


I thought that was on your mind! It is true in most cases but not in the third persons:

singular:
1. [minä] juoksen
2. [sinä] juokset
3. *hän* juoksee

plural:
1. [me] juoksemme
2. [te] juoksette
3. *he* juoksevat

The subject could be omitted in poetic style, for example, and perhaps in some dialects as well, but not in normal writing.

GOM


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