Hän luki kirjaa viime vuonna.

Breakdown of Hän luki kirjaa viime vuonna.

hän
he/she
kirja
the book
lukea
to read
viime vuonna
last year
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Questions & Answers about Hän luki kirjaa viime vuonna.

Why is the noun kirja in the sentence in the partitive form (kirjaa) instead of appearing in a nominative or accusative form?
In Finnish, many verbs that describe processes or experiences (like reading) use the partitive case for their objects. With lukea ("to read"), the partitive kirjaa can imply that the focus is on the activity or duration of the reading rather than on a completed, whole object. It’s a common grammatical feature where even though the action might be finished, the partitive is used to describe the nature of the experience.
What tense is luki, and how does it function in this sentence?
Luki is the simple past tense (also known as the preterite) form of lukea. It indicates that the reading occurred entirely in the past. Finnish often uses this form in narratives or when recounting events, so here it shows that the action of reading happened last year.
What does the pronoun hän mean, and does it convey any information about gender?
The pronoun hän is a gender-neutral singular pronoun in Finnish, equivalent to both "he" and "she" in English. Finnish does not have separate pronouns for masculine and feminine genders, so hän is used for all individuals regardless of gender.
What is the role and meaning of the phrase viime vuonna in the sentence?
Viime vuonna translates to "last year" in English. Here, viime means "last" or "previous," and vuonna (derived from vuosi, meaning "year") indicates the time frame using an adverbial construction (often expressed in the inessive case). It tells us when the reading took place.
Could the sentence have used the accusative form (e.g., kirjan) instead of the partitive, and what would have been the difference in meaning?
Yes, it is possible in some contexts to use the accusative form kirjan to mean "the book" (as a complete, finished entity). Choosing kirjaa (partitive) can emphasize the process or duration of the reading or suggest that the action didn’t necessarily affect the entirety of the book in a defined, complete sense. Thus, while both forms can be grammatically correct, the choice subtly shifts the focus: the accusative would stress a complete, bounded action, whereas the partitive highlights the activity of reading as an ongoing process or an experience without a strict sense of wholeness.

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