When and why (milloin, miksi)

Asking "When"

To ask about the timeframe of an event, use milloin (when). Like in English, it goes at the beginning of the sentence.

When does the meeting begin?
Milloin kokous alkaa?
When does the train leave?
Milloin juna lähtee?

Use it with action verbs or simply with olla (to be) for scheduled events.

When is the concert?
Milloin konsertti on?

Asking "Why"

To ask for a reason, use miksi (why).

Why are you in the hotel?
Miksi te olette hotellissa?
Why does the vacation end today?
Miksi loma loppuu tänään?

When asking why someone or something must do something, the rules for täytyy (must) apply. The subject still takes the genitive case (ending in -n).

Why must the course be difficult?
Miksi kurssin täytyy olla vaikea?

Putting it together

You can combine these question words with scheduling vocabulary like loma (vacation), kurssi (course), and matka (trip). Link related questions into one sentence using ja (and).

When does the course begin, and why does the vacation end?
Milloin kurssi alkaa, ja miksi loma loppuu?
When is the concert, and why is the trip expensive?
Milloin konsertti on, ja miksi matka on kallis?

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