Questions & Answers about Sinä et lue paljon.
Why is the word for "not" et instead of ei?
In Finnish, "not" behaves like a verb and changes to match the person doing the action. Since the subject here is sinä (you), the negative verb takes the form et. If it were "he/she does not read", it would be hän ei lue.
The dictionary form of the verb to read is lukea. Where did the "k" go in lue?
Lukea is a Type 1 verb. To make it negative, you use its "connegative stem" (the base form used for negatives). To find this stem, take the "I" form of the verb and drop the -n. The "I" form is luen (the strong k drops out due to a rule called consonant gradation). Drop the -n, and you get lue.
Could I drop the word sinä and just say Et lue paljon?
Yes, you can! Because the negative verb et already specifically means "you do not", the pronoun sinä is optional. Including it just adds a little extra emphasis on the person.
How does the word paljon work in this sentence?
Paljon means "a lot" or "much". In Finnish, you can place it right after the verb to describe the amount of the action, just like saying "read a lot" or "read much" in English.