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Questions & Answers about Opettaja puhuu usein.
Why does puhuu end in a double 'u'?
The dictionary form of the verb 'to speak' is puhua. Because it ends in two vowels, it belongs to Verb Type 1. To get the base of the word (the stem), we drop the final -a, leaving puhu-. In Finnish, to say 'he', 'she', or 'it' does something, you lengthen the last vowel of the stem. Since the stem ends in u, we add another u, giving us puhuu.
Does the double vowel in puhuu change how it is pronounced?
Yes, it is very important! In Finnish, a double vowel means you hold the sound twice as long as a single vowel. You need to stretch out that final 'u' sound in puhuu. If you only say a short vowel (puhu), it actually changes the meaning into a command telling someone to 'Speak!'.
Why is usein at the end? In English we say 'often speaks'.
Word order in Finnish can be quite flexible, but adverbs of time and frequency like usein (often) typically come directly after the verb they are describing. So while an English speaker says 'The teacher often speaks', a Finnish speaker naturally says 'The teacher speaks often'.
The word opettaja ends in -ja. Does that mean something specific?
Yes! The -ja (or -jä) ending in Finnish is very similar to the '-er' ending in English. It is attached to words to describe a person who does a specific action. Just like 'to teach' becomes 'teach-er', the Finnish word for teaching becomes opettaja.