minullakaan
Minullakaan is a Finnish emphatic form built from the pronoun phrase minulla (to me / at me) plus the particle -kaan/-kään. It is used in negative clauses to convey not only the lack of something for the speaker, but also that the speaker shares that lack with others. In English this is often rendered as not even I or I don’t have either.
In practice, minullakaan appears when the main clause is negated and the speaker wants to stress that
- Minulla ei ole aikaa. Minullakaan ei ole aikaa. This means “I don’t have time” and “I don’t
- Minulla ei ole autoa. Minullakaan ei ole autoa. This means “I don’t have a car” and “I
- The affirmative counterpart uses the particle -kin, as in minullakin, to mean “I also” or “me too,”
- The choice between -kaan/-kään and -kin depends on emphasis and negation; -kaan/-kään is the emphatic negation
Minullakaan thus functions as an indexical, discourse-aligning device that foregrounds shared circumstances in negative statements, contributing