Älä unohda ohjeita, sillä oikea käyttö voi säästää aikaa.

Don’t forget the instructions, because correct usage can save time.

Breakdown of Älä unohda ohjeita, sillä oikea käyttö voi säästää aikaa.

• aika: the time
• voida: can
• unohtaa: to forget
• älä: don't
• sillä: because
• ohje: the instruction
• oikea: correct
• käyttö: the usage
• säästää: to save

Questions & Answers about Älä unohda ohjeita, sillä oikea käyttö voi säästää aikaa.

What does Älä indicate in this sentence?

Älä is the negative imperative form used to issue a prohibition. In this sentence, it tells the reader not to do something—in this case, not to forget the instructions.

Why is ohjeita in the partitive case instead of the nominative?

In Finnish, when a verb is negated—as it is here with the negative command—the object typically appears in the partitive case. Ohjeita is the partitive plural of ohje (instruction), reflecting how Finnish often treats objects in negative sentences as indefinite or incomplete.

What role does the conjunction sillä play in this sentence?

Sillä functions as a causal conjunction, similar to because or for in English. It connects the command with its reason, explaining that the correct use can actually save time.

How is the clause oikea käyttö voi säästää aikaa structured grammatically?

In this clause, oikea käyttö (“proper use”) forms the subject, with oikea being an adjective modifying käyttö (use). The verb phrase voi säästää uses the modal verb voi (can) to indicate possibility, and aikaa (time) is in the partitive case, a common choice in Finnish when expressing indefinite amounts or outcomes.

Why is there a comma before sillä in the sentence?

A comma is used here to separate the two independent clauses. In Finnish, it’s common to set off a causal or explanatory clause—introduced by a word like sillä—with a comma to signal the shift in reasoning.