Breakdown of Opettaja kertoi minulle, että opiskelija on poissa, koska hän on sairas.
olla
to be
minä
I
hän
he / she
koska
because
opettaja
teacher
opiskelija
student
sairas
sick
kertoa
to tell
poissa
absent
että
that (conjunction)
Questions & Answers about Opettaja kertoi minulle, että opiskelija on poissa, koska hän on sairas.
Why does the Finnish sentence use on (is) twice when the English translation says "was"?
This is the core difference between Finnish and English reported speech! English shifts the tense back to match the main past-tense verb ("told" forces "was"). Finnish simply keeps the exact tense the speaker originally used. The teacher originally said: "The student is absent because he is sick." Therefore, Finnish keeps the present tense on in the reported version.
Why is "told me" translated using minulle instead of minut or minua?
The verb kertoa (to tell) requires the allative case (the -lle ending) for the person receiving the information. You are literally saying the teacher "told to me".
What exactly is the word poissa?
Poissa means "away" or "absent". It is a static location form of the word pois (away). The phrase olla poissa literally means "to be away", which is the standard Finnish way to say someone is absent from school or work.
Are the commas before että and koska strictly necessary?
Yes. In standard Finnish punctuation, you must use a comma to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause (like those starting with conjunctions such as että and koska). English is much looser with commas before "that" and "because", but Finnish grammar requires them here.
Learn Opettaja kertoi minulle, että opiskelija on poissa, koska hän on sairas 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