Ensi aamulla soitan siskolleni.

Next morning, I call my sister.

Breakdown of Ensi aamulla soitan siskolleni.

• minä: I
• minun: my
• soittaa: to call
• sisko: the sister
• -llä: on
• aamu: the morning
• ensi: next

Questions & Answers about Ensi aamulla soitan siskolleni.

What does ensi aamulla mean and why is it placed at the beginning of the sentence?

Ensi aamulla translates to "tomorrow morning." In Finnish, it’s common to start a sentence with a time adverbial to set the context for when the action occurs. Although the word order in Finnish is flexible, placing the time element first helps listeners immediately understand the time frame involved.

Why isn’t the subject (i.e., I) explicitly mentioned in the sentence?

Finnish verbs are conjugated to reflect the subject. In the verb soitan, the ending -n indicates that the subject is first person singular ("I"). Because this information is built into the verb form, it’s not necessary to include a separate word for "I."

How is future action expressed in this sentence, even though it uses the present tense?

Finnish does not have a distinct future tense. Instead, the present tense is used to describe future actions when a clear time indicator is present. Here, ensi aamulla (tomorrow morning) tells us that the action, despite being in the present tense, will occur in the future.

How is siskolleni constructed, and what does it indicate?

Siskolleni is formed from the noun sisko (sister) by adding the allative case ending -lle, which indicates direction or the recipient of an action, followed by the possessive suffix -ni, meaning "my." Thus, siskolleni literally means "to my sister."

Why does Finnish use a suffix on sisko instead of a separate preposition like "to" as in English?

In Finnish, many grammatical roles—including that of an indirect object—are shown by case endings rather than by separate words or prepositions. The allative case ending -lle attached to sisko serves the same function as the English preposition "to," while the possessive suffix -ni conveys "my." This suffix-based system allows Finnish to compactly encode relationships between words.