Toisinaan katson televisiota yksin, kun olen väsynyt.

I

Breakdown of Toisinaan katson televisiota yksin, kun olen väsynyt.

• olla: to be
• kun: when
• katsoa: to watch
• televisio: the television
• toisinaan: sometimes
• yksin: alone
• väsynyt: tired

Questions & Answers about Toisinaan katson televisiota yksin, kun olen väsynyt.

What does toisinaan mean in this sentence, and what role does it play?

Toisinaan translates to "sometimes." It is an adverb indicating that the action of watching TV occurs on an occasional or irregular basis rather than every time.

Why is televisiota in the partitive case instead of the nominative or accusative?

In Finnish, many verbs—especially those describing ongoing or habitual actions like katsoa (to watch)—require the object to be in the partitive case. Using televisiota (the partitive form of televisio) signals that the action is non-final or indefinite, reflecting the habitual nature of the activity.

What does yksin mean, and how is it functioning syntactically in the sentence?

Yksin means "alone" or "by oneself." It functions as an adverb that modifies the verb katson, specifying that the subject watches TV without any company.

How does the subordinate clause kun olen väsynyt work, and what information does it provide?

The clause kun olen väsynyt means "when I am tired." The conjunction kun introduces a temporal condition, indicating that the main action (watching TV alone) happens specifically when the subject is in a state of tiredness.

Why are explicit subject pronouns like minä not present in this sentence?

In Finnish, verb conjugations inherently include information about the subject. Both katson and olen are clearly first person singular forms, so the subject pronoun minä (I) is omitted as it is unnecessary for understanding.

Why are both verbs katson and olen in the present tense in a sentence that describes a habitual action?

The present tense is used to indicate habitual or general actions in Finnish. Katson expresses the repeated, habitual nature of watching TV, and olen väsynyt describes the current state (being tired) under which this habit occurs. Both tenses work together to convey a regular situation rather than a one-time event.