# vei peliä täysin



## Gavril

Hyvää sunnuntaita, 

I don't quite understand the phrase _vei peliä täysin_ here:



> Meksiko  avasi jalkapallon MM-urakkansa voittamalla Kamerunin 1-0. Etukäteen  ottelusta odotettiin tasaista, mutta Meksiko vei peliä täysin.  Meksiko teki kolme maalia, mutta tuomarit suostuivat hyväksymään niistä vain yhden.



Specifically, I don't understand why the form _peliä_ is being used as opposed to _pelin_. The adverb _täysin_ suggests that the object was "totally" affected by the verb -- i.e., it is not a partial object -- and therefore I would expect to see the _n_-accusative used (_pelin_).

Can anyone help?

Kiitos


----------



## Grumpy Old Man

The informal expression means that Mexico was *in total control of the match*. Cameroon didn't stand a chance. For me, the partitive seems to refer to the various developments and incidents as the match unfolded. It is more descriptive than _pelin_, which would suggest the final score. I would translate _vei pelin _as _voitti pelin/ottelun  _and I would omit _täysin _if I were to use the phrase.


----------



## Gavril

So _vei peliä täysin_ means that Mexico was handily winning the game while it was still in progress, rather than that it won the game?



Grumpy Old Man said:


> The informal expression means that Mexico was *in total control of the match*. Cameroon didn't stand a chance. For me, the partitive seems to refer to the various developments and incidents as the match unfolded. It is more descriptive than _pelin_, which would suggest the final score. I would translate _vei pelin _as _voitti pelin/ottelun  _and I would omit _täysin _if I were to use the phrase.


----------



## Grumpy Old Man

Gavril said:


> So _vei peliä täysin_ means that Mexico was handily winning the game while it was still in progress, rather than that it won the game?


Yes. Of course, if a team is "handily winning" a game while it is still in progress, the team usually eventually wins the match as well, but _vei peliä täysin  _doesn't really mean that.


----------



## Määränpää

Grumpy Old Man said:


> Yes. Of course, if a team is "handily winning" a game while it is still in progress, the team usually eventually wins the match as well, but _vei peliä täysin  _doesn't really mean that.



I think Grumpy Old Man is saying that although it is the logical conclusion, it is not the actual meaning.

As he mentioned,_ viedä+partitive_ has a rather rare and informal independent meaning "to be in control". Personally, I associate it primarily with a man's supposed role in ballroom dancing, but there are different sayings: _viedä (jotakuta) kuin litran mittaa, viedä (jotakuta) kuin pässiä narussa..._


----------

