Breakdown of Älä unohda luottokorttia, kun maksat kurssimaksun.
sinä
you
kun
when
unohtaa
to forget
maksaa
to pay
älä
don’t
luottokortti
credit card
kurssimaksu
course fee
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Questions & Answers about Älä unohda luottokorttia, kun maksat kurssimaksun.
How do you form a negative command in Finnish, as in Älä unohda?
A negative imperative in Finnish combines:
- The negative auxiliary älä (for 2nd person singular “you”)
- The verb in its basic imperative stem (here unohda from unohtaa, “to forget”).
Without älä, unohda would be a positive command (“forget”), so Älä unohda means “don’t forget.”
Why is luottokorttia in the partitive case?
In Finnish negative sentences, objects almost always take the partitive. This reflects:
- An incomplete or indefinite action (you’re not “completely” forgetting; you simply mustn’t forget), and
- A general rule: negative clauses turn direct objects into partitives.
Hence luottokortti → luottokorttia.
Why is kurssimaksun in the accusative/genitive case rather than the partitive?
In positive clauses that denote a complete, punctual action with a definite object, Finnish uses the accusative. In singular, the accusative form is identical to the genitive. Since maksat here means “you pay the full course fee,” kurssimaksu becomes kurssimaksun.
What does kun mean here, and how is it different from jos or ennen kuin?
- Kun is a temporal conjunction meaning “when” or “once” (indicating a certain time).
- Jos means “if” (conditional).
- Ennen kuin means “before.”
So kun maksat kurssimaksun = “when you pay the course fee” (certain event), whereas jos maksat = “if you pay,” and ennen kuin maksat = “before you pay.”
Is the comma before kun necessary?
Commas before kun-clauses are optional in Finnish. The standard rule allows no comma with subordinate conjunctions, but writers often insert , for readability or natural pause:
• Acceptable: Älä unohda luottokorttia kun maksat…
• Common: Älä unohda luottokorttia, kun maksat…
Why is maksat in the present tense when talking about a future payment?
Finnish regularly uses the present tense for scheduled or imminent future events. Context and time markers (here kun maksat…) make it clear that the action is forthcoming.
Why is there no pronoun sinä in either clause?
Finnish typically drops personal pronouns when the verb ending already identifies the subject:
- The imperative älä alone implies “you.”
- The present-form maksat ends in -t, marking 2nd person singular.
Can the clauses be reversed, like Kun maksat kurssimaksun, älä unohda luottokorttia?
Yes. Finnish word order is flexible. Placing the kun-clause first shifts emphasis to the timing. You would then commonly add a comma after kurssimaksun for clarity.