Suitability (sopia / käydä)

When making plans or coordinating schedules, you often need to ask if a time "suits" someone or is acceptable to them. In Finnish, use the verbs sopia (to suit / to fit) or käydä (to suit / to be acceptable).

The Experiencer in the Allative Case

To specify who the arrangement suits, use the allative case. This is formed with the -lle ending, which corresponds to "to" or "for" in English.

For the personal pronouns, the allative forms are:

• minä → minulle (to me)
• sinä → sinulle (to you)
• hän → hänelle (to him/her)
• me → meille (to us)
• te → teille (to you all / formal you)
• he → heille (to them)

Nouns can also take this ending (e.g., opettaja → opettajalle, pomo → pomolle).

The sentence structure typically places the proposed time or event as the subject, followed by the verb (sopii or käy), and then the person in the allative case.

Asking What Works

To ask if a time suits someone, add the question suffix -ko/-kö to the verb and move it to the front of the sentence (sopiiko, käykö).

When Things Don't Suit

To say a time doesn't work, use the standard negative verb alongside sopia or käydä. Remember that the allative case is still used for the person experiencing the scheduling conflict.

Coordinating Schedules

When trying to coordinate a gathering, you might also need to discuss when people get off work or have free time. The verb vapautua means "to become free" and is often used when talking about leaving work (töistä).