Questions & Answers about Syö kunnolla ennen matkaa.
Where does the adverb kunnolla (properly) come from?
Why is matkaa in the partitive case here?
It is required by the word ennen (before). In Finnish, most adpositions are postpositions that take the genitive case (for example, matkan jälkeen). However, ennen is one of the relatively few prepositions. It sits before the noun and dictates that the noun must take the partitive case.
Syö is an imperative command. If we added an object, like "a whole meal", what case would it be in?
It would be in the nominative-like accusative, meaning it looks exactly like the basic dictionary form. For example, "Eat a whole meal" is Syö koko ateria (not aterian). This is a key rule to remember: the standard genitive -n ending for total objects is dropped in 1st and 2nd person commands.
How could we attach an absolute phrase of state to this sentence, for example to say "Eat with your backpack on before the trip"?
You form it using a nominative noun followed immediately by a local case, without any linking words like "with". "Backpack" is reppu (nominative) and "on the back" is selässä (inessive). You can just drop this phrase directly into the sentence: Syö reppu selässä ennen matkaa.
Learn Syö kunnolla ennen matkaa 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