Houseplants can demand strict care routines. To discuss these routines, you need to express how often you do things.
| The orchid is a very sensitive plant. | Orkidea on todella herkkä kasvi. |
Expressing Frequency
In Finnish, expressing how often an event happens follows a simple formula: Quantity + Time period in the inessive case.
The Quantity (Number of Times)
To say how many "times" an action occurs, use a number and the word kerta (time). For "once," use the specific form kerran. For any number greater than one, use the number followed by kertaa (the partitive form).
| Quantity | Meaning |
|---|---|
| kerran | once |
| kaksi kertaa | twice |
| kolme kertaa | three times |
The Time Period
To express the time frame, put the time period noun in the inessive case (ending in -ssa or -ssä). Notice the stem changes for kuukausi (kuukaude-) and vuosi (vuode-).
| Noun | Meaning | Inessive Form | In Context |
|---|---|---|---|
| päivä | day | päivässä | a day |
| viikko | week | viikossa | a week |
| kuukausi | month | kuukaudessa | a month |
| vuosi | year | vuodessa | a year |
Putting It Together
Combine the quantity and the inessive time period to build your frequency expression. For example, "once a week" is kerran viikossa.
| I must water my orchid once a week. | Minun pitää kastella orkideani kerran viikossa. |
| Do you mist this sensitive plant twice a day? | Sumutatko sinä tätä herkkää kasvia kaksi kertaa päivässä? |
| You should change the soil once a year. | Sinun kannattaa vaihtaa multa kerran vuodessa. |
| My orchid needs fertilizer three times a month. | Orkideani tarvitsee lannoitetta kolme kertaa kuukaudessa. |
| The plant will wither if you water it four times a week. | Kasvi lakastuu, jos kastelet sitä neljä kertaa viikossa. |
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