Breakdown of Lentoemäntä tarkistaa hätäuloskäynnin, ennen kuin nousu alkaa.
alkaa
to start
tarkistaa
to check
lentoemäntä
flight attendant
ennen kuin
before (conjunction)
nousu
takeoff
hätäuloskäynti
emergency exit
Questions & Answers about Lentoemäntä tarkistaa hätäuloskäynnin, ennen kuin nousu alkaa.
Why is there a comma right before ennen kuin?
In Finnish, a comma is strictly required to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause. Since ennen kuin (before) introduces a new subordinate clause (nousu alkaa), the comma must go immediately before ennen. Notice that you never put a comma between ennen and kuin.
Could I put the ennen kuin clause at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes! You can flip the clauses and say Ennen kuin nousu alkaa, lentoemäntä tarkistaa hätäuloskäynnin. You still need the comma to separate the two clauses. Also, notice that Finnish keeps the normal word order in the main clause (lentoemäntä tarkistaa...); it doesn't invert the subject and verb like some other languages do when starting with a time clause.
Why does hätäuloskäynti have the -n ending here (hätäuloskäynnin)?
It is the total object of the sentence. The verb tarkistaa (to check) usually takes a total object because the action is seen as complete—the flight attendant checks the whole emergency exit, start to finish. For a singular noun, this total object case (the accusative) looks exactly like the genitive case, ending in -n.
How are the long nouns lentoemäntä and hätäuloskäynti built?
They are compound words, which are very common in Finnish. Lentoemäntä combines lento (flight) and emäntä (hostess or mistress of the house). Hätäuloskäynti is built from hätä (emergency) and uloskäynti (exit). You can even break down uloskäynti into ulos (out) and käynti (the act of going or visiting).
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