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Questions & Answers about Huomenna ei sada.
How does the dictionary verb sataa turn into ei sada here?
Sataa is a Type 1 verb. To make it negative, you need its connegative stem. You find this by taking the 'I' form (minä sadan) and dropping the final -n. Because the 'I' form uses the weak grade, the strong -t- from sataa becomes a weak -d-. Add the negative verb ei, and you get ei sada.
Why is there no word for 'it' before the verb?
In English, we say 'it rains', but Finnish weather verbs do not use a dummy subject like 'it'. You just use the verb on its own: sataa (it rains) or ei sada (it does not rain).
Why do we use ei instead of en or et if there is no subject?
Even without a subject like 'it' or 'he/she', weather verbs always take the 3rd person singular form. Therefore, the negative verb must be the 3rd person singular ei.
The translation says 'will not rain'. Is there a future tense hidden in ei sada?
No, Finnish does not have a future tense. It uses the present tense for future events. The word huomenna (tomorrow) provides all the context we need to know this is happening in the future.