Scheduled Intentions
To state what is scheduled or intended to happen, Finnish uses a structure similar to the necessive ("must") construction:
- The doer of the action in the genitive case (e.g., minun, meidän, viljelijän).
- The verb on (always 3rd-person singular).
- The word määrä (scheduled / supposed to) or tarkoitus (intention / meant to).
- The main verb in the 1st infinitive.
On määrä (Supposed to / Scheduled)
Use on määrä for events that are scheduled, expected, or decided by outside forces.
| I am meant to sow the wheat tomorrow. | Minun on määrä kylvää vehnä huomenna. |
| We are supposed to mow the hay before the frost. | Meidän on määrä niittää heinä ennen hallaa. |
Even natural phenomena can have a schedule. Notice how the frost (halla) takes the genitive case (hallan).
| The frost is supposed to come at night. | Hallan on määrä tulla yöllä. |
On tarkoitus (Intends to)
Use on tarkoitus when the focus is on a personal intention or plan.
| The farmer intends to sow the barley early in the spring. | Viljelijän on tarkoitus kylvää ohra aikaisin keväällä. |
| They intend to sell the grains at the market. | Heidän on tarkoitus myydä jyvät torilla. |
Asking Questions
To form yes/no questions, move on to the front and add the question suffix -ko (onko), followed by the genitive subject.
| Do you intend to ask the farmer about the barley? | Onko sinun tarkoitus kysyä viljelijältä ohrasta? |
To ask "who is supposed to" or "who intends to," use the genitive form of kuka (kenen).
| Who is supposed to sow these grains? | Kenen on tarkoitus kylvää nämä jyvät? |
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