Questions & Answers about Älkää juosko käytävällä.
Why does the verb end in -ko here (juosko)?
This is the rule for the plural or formal negative imperative. When you tell a group (or one person formally) not to do something, you start with älkää and add -ko or -kö to the verb's stem. Because juosta has back vowels (u, o, a), we use -ko.
How do we get the stem juos- from the verb juosta (to run)?
Juosta is a verb type 3. To find the correct stem for the plural negative imperative, you remove the infinitive ending -ta or -tä. Removing -ta from juosta leaves us with the stem juos-.
Why does käytävä (corridor) have the ending -llä? Shouldn't "in the corridor" use -ssä?
In English you say "in the corridor", but in Finnish, a corridor (käytävä) is usually thought of as an open space or pathway rather than an enclosed room. Because of this, Finnish uses the adessive case ending -llä (on) rather than the inessive -ssä (in).
Could this sentence be directed at just one person?
Yes! While älkää is the plural "do not" (addressing two or more people), it is also the formal "do not". If someone is politely asking a single adult stranger not to run, they would also use älkää juosko.
Learn Älkää juosko käytävällä and more in Finnish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free