Minä tarkistan aikataulun ennen kokousta.

I check the schedule before the meeting.

Breakdown of Minä tarkistan aikataulun ennen kokousta.

• minä: I
• aikataulu: the schedule
• ennen: before
• kokous: the meeting
• tarkistaa: to check

Questions & Answers about Minä tarkistan aikataulun ennen kokousta.

Why is Minä used even though Finnish often omits subject pronouns?

In Finnish the verb ending -n of tarkistan already indicates 1st person singular, so you can say just Tarkistan aikataulun ennen kokousta. Adding Minä is optional and used for emphasis or clarity, just like saying I in English.

What person, number and tense is tarkistan, and how is it formed?

tarkistan is the 1st person singular present indicative of tarkistaa (to check). The stem is tarkista- plus the personal ending -n for “I”.

Why does aikataulun end with -n, and what case is this?

The -n ending marks the accusative singular (identical in form to the genitive). It signals that aikataulu (schedule) is a complete, definite direct object of the verb.

Why isn't aikataulua (the partitive) used here?

The partitive aikataulua would imply an incomplete or ongoing action (e.g. “checking some of the schedule”). Since you intend to check the entire schedule, you use the accusative form aikataulun.

What case is kokousta in ennen kokousta, and why?

kokousta is the partitive singular of kokous (meeting). The preposition ennen (“before”) in temporal expressions takes the partitive, so the noun must be in that case.

Why is there no kuin after ennen, like in ennen kuin?

ennen can be a preposition (no kuin, governs partitive) or a conjunction (usually followed by kuin, e.g. ennen kuin kokous alkaa). Here it's used as a preposition, so you omit kuin.

Can I change the word order? For instance, start with Ennen kokousta?

Yes. Finnish has a flexible word order. You can say Ennen kokousta tarkistan aikataulun to put the time phrase first. The basic meaning stays the same but the emphasis shifts.

Are there synonyms for tarkistaa?

Yes. For example tarkastaa (more formal, “to inspect”), käydä läpi (colloquial, “to go through”), or katsoa läpi (“to look through”) can be used depending on context.

How else can I say before the meeting besides ennen kokousta?

You could say ennen kokouksen alkua, literally before the start of the meeting. Here kokouksen is the genitive modifying alku, and alkua is in the partitive because of ennen.