Questions & Answers about Poika juoksee metsään.
Why is it metsään and not metsässä?
Because the verb juoksee (runs) involves movement toward a destination, Finnish requires a directional case. We use the illative case (metsään, meaning into the forest). If we used the static inessive case (metsässä, meaning in the forest), it would mean the boy is already inside the forest and just running around in there.
How is the ending for metsään formed?
The base word for forest is metsä. To create the illative (into) case for a word ending in a short vowel, you lengthen that final vowel and add an -n. So, metsä + ä + n becomes metsään.
Why does the verb juoksee look so different from its dictionary form?
The dictionary form is juosta (to run). It is a Type 3 verb, which means its stem changes quite a bit when conjugated. For a third-person singular subject like poika (he/she/it), the ending shifts to -ksee, resulting in juoksee.
Why is there no Finnish word for the in this sentence?
Finnish does not have articles like a or the. The word poika can mean either a boy or the boy. Because it is placed at the very beginning of the sentence, it usually implies we are talking about a specific, already known boy, which is why it translates best to the boy here.
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