Learn Hardcore Finnish: Lisäksi juon vettä usein, koska se on terveellistä ja auttaa keskittymään. - In addition, I drink water often, because it is healthy and helps with concentration.

Lisäksi translates to “in addition” or “furthermore.” It’s placed at the beginning of the sentence to add extra information, indicating that the statement about drinking water is an additional point to a previous discussion.

How is the verb juon formed from juoda, and what does it signify?

Juon is the first-person singular present tense form of juoda (to drink). In Finnish, verbs are conjugated by modifying the infinitive, so juoda becomes juon to show that the speaker (“I”) is performing the action in the present.

Why is vettä in the partitive case in this sentence?

In Finnish, the partitive case is often used for objects that denote an indefinite quantity or something not seen as a complete whole. When talking about drinking water, vettä (from vesi) appears in the partitive because the action involves an unspecified amount of water—it’s a common pattern when referring to substances like liquids.

What is the role of the adverb usein, and how does its placement affect the meaning?

Usein means “often” and functions as an adverb modifying the verb juon. Although word order in Finnish is flexible, its placement after vettä emphasizes the frequency with which the speaker drinks water. It tells us that this action happens regularly.

What does the conjunction koska mean, and how is it functioning in the sentence?

Koska means “because” and acts as a subordinating conjunction. It introduces a subordinate clause that explains the reason for the action in the main clause—namely, that water is healthy and helps with concentration.

To what does the pronoun se refer in the subordinate clause?

The pronoun se refers back to vettä (water) mentioned in the main clause. Even though vettä is in the partitive case, se is used in its nominative form within the subordinate clause to describe the qualities of the water.

Why is auttaa followed by keskittymään, and what does this construction illustrate?

In Finnish, verbs like auttaa (“to help”) are followed by another verb in the third infinitive form to indicate the specific action being assisted. Keskittymään is the third infinitive form of keskittyä (“to concentrate”). This construction is analogous to the English “helps to concentrate,” showing how Finnish links a helping verb with an action in a specific infinitive form.