Breakdown of Elokuva alkaa kello viisi.
kello
watch / clock (the time)
viisi
five
elokuva
movie
alkaa
to start
Questions & Answers about Elokuva alkaa kello viisi.
Why isn't there a word for 'at' before kello viisi?
To say an event happens at a full, exact hour, Finnish simply uses kello (clock) followed by the basic number. You don't need a separate preposition for 'at' when you use this phrase.
Can I just say Elokuva alkaa viisi without the word kello?
No, if you use the basic number viisi, you must include kello to mean 'at five o'clock'. Without it, the sentence sounds incomplete. Later you will learn how to add an ending to the number itself to mean 'at', but when using the basic dictionary form of the number, kello is required.
Does kello mean 'time'?
Kello literally means 'clock' or 'watch'. Saying kello viisi is exactly like saying 'five o'clock' (five of the clock) in English. If you want to talk about 'time' in a general sense, the Finnish word is aika.
Why does the verb alkaa have two 'a' letters at the end?
The dictionary form of 'to start' is alkaa. To say 'it starts', you find the stem by dropping the final 'a' to get alka-, and then the rule for 'he/she/it' is to double the last vowel. So alka- plus another a becomes alkaa. It looks identical to the dictionary form, but it is actually conjugated to match the movie!
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