Illalla maksan yhden laskun verkossa.

In the evening I pay one bill online.

Breakdown of Illalla maksan yhden laskun verkossa.

• yksi: one
• illalla: in the evening
• maksaa: to pay
• lasku: the bill
• verkossa: online

Questions & Answers about Illalla maksan yhden laskun verkossa.

What case is Illalla, and what does it mean?

It’s the adessive singular (ending -lla) of ilta (“evening”). In Finnish the adessive case can mark time, so Illalla = in the evening (or, given the context, “this evening”/“tonight”).

What information does maksan convey?

maksan is the 1st person singular present tense of maksaa (“to pay”). The ending -n tells you the subject is “I,” so maksan = “I pay” (or “I will pay,” depending on context).

Why is the present tense used for an action in the future?

In Finnish you normally use the present tense for near-future events. Illalla maksan… is naturally understood as “I’ll pay in the evening” or “I’m going to pay tonight.”

Why do we say yhden laskun instead of yksi lasku, and why is lasku changed to laskun?

When a numeral precedes a noun, the numeral itself is declined and the noun takes genitive singular to agree. yhden is the genitive of yksi, and laskun is the genitive of lasku. Also, because you pay the entire bill (a complete action), the object appears in the accusative, which in singular looks like the genitive: yhden laskun = “one bill.”

What case is verkossa, and why is it used instead of a preposition?

verkossa is the inessive case (ending -ssa/ssä) of verkko (“network”). Finnish uses case endings instead of prepositions, so verkossa literally means “in the network,” i.e. “online” or “on the internet.”

Why aren’t there any words for “the” or “a” in this sentence?

Finnish has no articles (“a” or “the”). Definiteness or indefiniteness is understood from context. You simply say lasku for “a bill” or “the bill.”

Can you use netissä instead of verkossa?

Yes. netissä (from netti, slang for “internet”) also means “online.” verkossa is a bit more formal, netissä is more colloquial.

Can the word order be changed, and if so, how does that affect emphasis?

Finnish has fairly free word order because of its case system. The neutral order is Subject–Verb–Object with adverbials around it, but you can move elements to highlight them. For example:

• Verkossa maksan illalla yhden laskun. (emphasizes online)
• Yhden laskun maksan illalla verkossa. (emphasizes the bill)
• Illalla verkossa maksan yhden laskun. (slightly shifts focus to tonight online)
  All are grammatical; shifting position changes which part the listener perceives as new or important.