Minä soitan siskolleni pian.

I

Breakdown of Minä soitan siskolleni pian.

• minun: my
• soittaa: to call
• sisko: the sister
• pian: soon

Questions & Answers about Minä soitan siskolleni pian.

Why is the verb soitan used instead of something like soittaa?

In Finnish, verbs are conjugated according to the subject. The base form is soittaa, but when the subject is minä (I), the verb ends in -n, making it soitan.

What does the ending -lle in siskolleni indicate?

The -lle ending is the allative case, which roughly corresponds to "to" in English. It shows that the action is directed towards sisko (the sister).

Why is there an extra -ni at the end of siskolleni?

The -ni suffix indicates possession: "my." So siskolleni means "to my sister." It combines both the allative case (-lle) and the possessive suffix (-ni).

Is saying Minä soitan siskolleni pian the only way to place the word pian?

You can move pian around: Minä soitan pian siskolleni or Pian minä soitan siskolleni. However, the basic meaning remains the same, and the slight differences are usually about emphasis.

Is soitan always about calling by phone, or can it mean something else?

Soittaa can also mean "to play" (an instrument). In many contexts, soittaa by itself often refers to making a phone call, but you would clarify the meaning if you wanted to talk about playing an instrument, for example, Soitan pianoa ("I play the piano").