Breakdown of Minulla on tapaaminen kello puoli yksi.
olla
to be
minä
I
kello
watch / clock (the time)
yksi
one
puoli
half
tapaaminen
meeting
Questions & Answers about Minulla on tapaaminen kello puoli yksi.
Why does puoli yksi mean 'half past twelve' instead of 'half past one'?
In Finnish, half-hour times always look ahead to the next full hour. So puoli yksi literally means 'halfway to one', which is 12:30. Be careful if you speak British English, where 'half one' means 1:30!
Does the phrase kello puoli yksi change if I want to say 'the time is 12:30' instead of 'at 12:30'?
No, it stays exactly the same. For full hours and half hours, Finnish uses the basic numbers whether you are answering 'What time is it?' (Kello on puoli yksi) or 'At what time?' (tapaaminen kello puoli yksi). You do not need any special grammar endings here.
Why does the sentence use minulla on instead of a specific verb for 'have'?
Finnish does not have a single verb that means 'to have'. Instead, it uses a structure that literally translates to 'on me is'. Minulla means 'on me', and on means 'is'.
Do I have to say the word kello before the time?
It is grammatically correct and very clear to keep it, but in everyday spoken Finnish, people often drop it. You will frequently hear people just say Minulla on tapaaminen puoli yksi.
Is the word tapaaminen related to the verb tavata (to meet)?
Yes! In Finnish, you can often turn a verb into a noun by adding -minen to its stem, much like adding '-ing' in English. So the verb tavata (to meet) becomes the noun tapaaminen (a meeting).
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