Minä voin kysyä pomolta aikaisin.

I can ask the boss early.

Breakdown of Minä voin kysyä pomolta aikaisin.

• minä: I
• aikaisin: early
• kysyä: to ask
• pomo: the boss
• voida: can

Questions & Answers about Minä voin kysyä pomolta aikaisin.

Why is it pomolta and not just pomo?

In Finnish, the suffix -lta indicates "from" or "off of" a person or place. When you want to say you're asking from the boss, you use pomo + -lta, forming pomolta.

Can I drop Minä (the subject pronoun) and still be correct?

Yes, you can. In Finnish, personal pronouns are often omitted if the context is clear. So simply Voin kysyä pomolta aikaisin is also acceptable.

Why do we say kysyä instead of kysyn in this sentence?

Voin (from the verb voida) is followed by the basic form (infinitive) of the next verb, so it becomes voin kysyä (I can ask) rather than kysyn (I ask). It’s the equivalent of saying I can ask in English rather than I ask.

What part of speech is aikaisin, and why is it at the end?

Aikaisin is an adverb meaning "early." In Finnish sentences, adverbs can appear in multiple positions, but putting it at the end is quite natural. You could also place it elsewhere, like Voin aikaisin kysyä pomolta, but Voin kysyä pomolta aikaisin is a common word order.

Does the sentence structure or word order change the meaning in Finnish?

Generally, the meaning stays the same, but emphasis may shift. Finnish has relatively flexible word order, so moving aikaisin or other parts around can slightly emphasize different elements of the sentence without changing the core meaning.