Ilman lupaa en voi avata tätä dokumenttia.

I

Breakdown of Ilman lupaa en voi avata tätä dokumenttia.

• tämä: this
• avata: to open
• ei: not
• voida: to be able
• lupa: the permission
• ilman: without
• dokumentti: the document

Questions & Answers about Ilman lupaa en voi avata tätä dokumenttia.

Why does the sentence start with ilman lupaa instead of placing that phrase later?

Ilman lupaa means without permission. In Finnish, adverbial phrases can be positioned at the beginning to emphasize the circumstance or condition. Although Finnish word order is flexible because of its case system, starting with ilman lupaa highlights that the action (or in this case, the inaction) is due to the lack of permission.

Why does lupa appear as lupaa in this sentence?

When using the preposition ilman (without), the noun that follows must be in the partitive case. The partitive singular of lupa is lupaa. This case often implies something indefinite or only partially applicable, which fits well with the idea of not having permission.

How is negation formed in the sentence, and what role does en play?

In Finnish, negation is expressed with a separate negative verb. Here, en is the first-person singular negative form meaning I do not. It appears before the modal verb (voi from voida) to construct the expression en voi, which translates to I cannot.

Why does the main verb appear in the form avaa rather than a fully conjugated form?

When a modal verb like voi (can) is used, the main verb that follows remains in its basic (non-finite) form. In this sentence, avaa is that basic form of open. The modal verb carries the subject conjugation, so there’s no need to conjugate avaa further.

What case is used for tätä dokumenttia, and why do the words appear in these forms?

The phrase tätä dokumenttia is in the accusative case. In Finnish, when describing a complete or bounded action (as would be the case if the document were opened), the object takes the accusative form. The demonstrative tämä becomes tätä in the accusative, and dokumentti changes to dokumenttia accordingly.