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Questions & Answers about Jokainen päivä on kaunis.
What does jokainen mean, and how does it differ from kaikki?
jokainen means “each” or “every,” emphasizing items one at a time.
kaikki means “all,” referring to the entire set collectively.
Example:
- jokainen päivä = “every single day” (one by one)
- kaikki päivät = “all the days” (as a group)
Why is päivä in the singular after jokainen?
Words like jokainen are distributive determiners. They always pair with a noun in the nominative singular. You never say jokaiset päivät—it must be jokainen päivä.
What case is päivä in, and how can I identify it?
It’s in the nominative singular—the dictionary form. Clues:
- No case ending (it doesn’t end in -i(a) or another suffix)
- It functions as the grammatical subject of on (“is”).
What is the verb on, and why is it in this form?
on is the 3rd person singular present tense of olla “to be.”
- Subject (jokainen päivä) is singular, so we use on.
- If the subject were plural, we’d use ovat (e.g. Kaikki päivät ovat kauniita).
Why is there no “a” or “the” before jokainen päivä?
Finnish has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness is inferred from context, not marked by separate words.
How does the adjective kaunis agree with the subject?
In Finnish, predicate adjectives agree with the subject in case and number. Here the subject is nominative singular, so kaunis remains in the nominative singular. Finnish adjectives do not change for gender.
Could I invert the word order and say Kaunis on jokainen päivä? Does the meaning change?
Yes, you can. Finnish word order is relatively free.
- Kaunis on jokainen päivä puts emphasis on kaunis, making it more poetic.
- The basic meaning (“every day is beautiful”) remains the same.
How would I say “All days are beautiful” instead of “Every day is beautiful”?
You’d switch to kaikki and use plural forms:
Kaikki päivät ovat kauniita.
- päivät (nominative plural of päivä)
- ovat (3rd person plural of olla)
- kauniita (nominative plural of kaunis)
If I want to say “every beautiful day,” how do I place the adjective inside the noun phrase?
Put jokainen first, then the adjective, then the noun:
Jokainen kaunis päivä
(“every beautiful day”)
Can I drop the verb on in more poetic or colloquial Finnish—e.g. Jokainen päivä kaunis?
In headlines, poetry or very colloquial speech you might omit on, but in standard Finnish you include it. Without on it reads like a title or a fragment rather than a full sentence.
How are jokainen and päivä pronounced?
- jokainen j sounds like English y
• o as in “or” (short)
• ai like “eye”
• nen as in “net” with an e - päivä ä like a in “cat”
• äi like “eye”
• ends in vä, where v is as in “van”