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Questions & Answers about Milloin heräät aamulla?
Why do we use the second-person singular form heräät here?
In Finnish, verbs change their form according to the person (and number) of the subject. The verb herätä (to wake up) is conjugated as heräät in the second-person singular present tense when addressing one person informally. The -t ending is the typical marker for the second-person singular in Finnish (e.g., sinä heräät, although the pronoun sinä is often omitted in everyday speech).
Why is Milloin used at the beginning of the sentence?
Milloin means when and is the standard question word to ask about time in Finnish. In direct questions, the question word usually comes first, followed by the verb and the rest of the sentence. Hence, Milloin heräät aamulla? is the natural word order for asking “When do you wake up in the morning?”
What's the role of aamulla in this sentence?
Aamulla is the adessive case of aamu (morning). In Finnish, the adessive suffix -lla can be used to indicate a point in time on certain parts of the day. Literally, aamulla can be understood as “in the morning.” So the sentence specifies the time period you wake up.
Could I say Mihin aikaan heräät aamulla? instead?
Yes, you can. Mihin aikaan means “at what time.” This phrasing is more specific if you expect a clock time as an answer. Milloin heräät aamulla? is more general and can be answered with a rough time (e.g., “early,” “around six,” etc.) or with a more precise time. Both are correct but differ slightly in how specific an answer they prompt.
How do I pronounce the ä in heräät correctly?
The ä in Finnish is pronounced as the front vowel in cat (but slightly more open). Since heräät has two ä sounds, you’ll pronounce them both with this front vowel sound. The double vowel ( ää ) is slightly prolonged compared to a single one, so you hold the sound just a bit longer when you say -ää-.