Breakdown of Hän sanoi ääniviestissä, että hän odottaa vahvistusta.
hän
he / she
sanoa
to say
odottaa
to wait
että
that (conjunction)
Questions & Answers about Hän sanoi ääniviestissä, että hän odottaa vahvistusta.
Why is odottaa in the present tense when the English translation says she "was waiting"?
This is a major difference between English and Finnish! English uses a "sequence of tenses": if the main verb is in the past ("She said"), the reported action shifts to the past too ("she was waiting"). Finnish doesn't do this. Instead, Finnish keeps the exact tense the person originally used. Since her original thought was "I am waiting" (Minä odotan), the reported speech keeps the present tense: että hän odottaa.
Why is vahvistusta in the partitive case?
The verb odottaa (to wait for) is a partitive verb, meaning the thing you are waiting for must always be in the partitive case. The base word is vahvistus (confirmation), which becomes vahvistusta in the partitive.
How is the word ääniviestissä built?
It is a compound word combined with a location ending. It consists of ääni (sound/voice) + viesti (message) + -ssä (the inessive case ending meaning "in"). Together, it means "in the voice message".
Why is there a comma before että?
In Finnish grammar, a subordinate clause starting with että (that) must always be separated from the main clause by a comma. While English usually skips the comma before "that", it is strictly required in Finnish.