Breakdown of Meidän kannattaa tehdä pöytävaraus ajoissa.
me
we
tehdä
to do
ajoissa
on time
kannattaa
to be profitable / to be worth it
pöytävaraus
the table reservation
Questions & Answers about Meidän kannattaa tehdä pöytävaraus ajoissa.
Why is "we" in the genitive form (meidän) instead of the nominative (me)?
The verb kannattaa (to be worthwhile / should) acts as a necessity verb here, similar to täytyy or pitää. In Finnish, the person who "has to" or "should" do something in these structures is always put in the genitive case.
Wait, doesn't kannattaa usually mean "to support"?
Yes, as a normal verb it means "to support" (like supporting a sports team). But when it is used with a genitive subject and another verb in its infinitive form (like tehdä here), it translates to "it is worthwhile" or "one should".
Why is the object pöytävaraus in the basic nominative case instead of taking the genitive -n ending?
This is a key rule for necessity sentences: when the main verb expresses necessity (like kannattaa, täytyy, or pitää), a total object does not take the usual genitive -n ending. Instead, it stays in the basic nominative form.
How does the word ajoissa get the meaning of "in time"?
Ajoissa is a fixed adverbial expression that literally translates to "in times". Grammatically, it is the plural inessive (in) form of the word aika (time), and it is the standard way to say "on time" or "early enough" in Finnish.
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