# ei saata



## Gavril

What is the normal meaning of _saattaa _when used in the negative? I found this example online:



> Tyylit eivät välttämättä joillakin ... selaimilla toimi oikein, koska CSS-tyylitiedosto ei saata olla aivan oppikirjojen mukainen.



"The styles won't necessarily work well on some browsers, because the CSS style file [may not?] be exactly according to the guidebooks."

Can _ei saata _mean either "must not" or "may not" depending on the context, or can it only mean one of these two?

Kiitos


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## sakvaka

In this context it means the same as 'ei välttämättä ole'. However, in my ear this expression sounds bad (although not totally impossible) and I think I'd rather replace it with 'ei välttämättä ole' in my own writings.

One fairly common (perhaps even dialectal?) use of the expression is to mean "en uskalla/rohkene/kehtaa":
_En saata arvostella häntä, koska tiedän, että hän voi pahoittaa mielensä._

Besides: (he) must not = _ei saa_, from the verb 'saada'


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## Finland

Hello!

I agree. If I had to proofread this text, I'd mark it downright as a mistake. Saattaa in this sense works in the affirmative (_Hän saattaa tulla_) but not in the negative (_Hän ei saata tulla _would be interpreted, like sakvaka said, as "He dare not come", more or less).

HTH
S


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## Grumpy Old Man

"... the file *may not be*..." is the correct meaning. Nothing in the sentence disagrees with my ear. I cannot think of a context in which "ei saata" would mean "must not".

GOM


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