Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Minä juon kahvia joka ilta.
Why is the pronoun Minä included even though Finnish verbs already indicate the subject?
Finnish verbs carry information about the subject through their conjugation, so the subject pronoun is often omitted. However, including Minä (I) can add emphasis or clarity, especially in contexts where the speaker wants to stress who is performing the action.
How does the verb juon relate to the subject, and why is it conjugated that way?
The verb juon is the first person singular present tense form of juoda (to drink). Its ending indicates that the subject is minä (I). Even though the conjugation already tells us who is acting, the explicit inclusion of Minä reinforces this, which is particularly helpful for learners.
Why is kahvia in the partitive form instead of kahvi?
In Finnish, the partitive case is used when referring to an incomplete quantity or when the action isn’t viewed as a complete, single event. Here, kahvia (coffee in partitive) indicates that the speaker is drinking some (an unspecified amount of) coffee. This is common in expressions of habitual or ongoing activities, where the exact quantity isn’t the focus.
What does joka ilta mean, and how does it function in the sentence?
Joka ilta translates to every evening in English. Joka functions similarly to an adjective modifying ilta (evening) to express the frequency of the action. It informs us that the action of drinking coffee occurs nightly.
Is the word order in the sentence fixed, and what is the typical structure in Finnish?
Finnish generally has a flexible word order because of its rich case system. In this sentence, the order is: Subject (Minä) – Verb (juon) – Object (kahvia) – Time/Adverbial Phrase (joka ilta). While variations are possible, this SVO(A) order is common and provides clear structure for learners by paralleling the familiar English sentence pattern.