Breakdown of Museossa opin, että kulttuuri voi muuttua nopeasti.
minä
I
-ssa
in
muuttua
to change
voida
can
oppia
to learn
museo
the museum
nopeasti
quickly
että
that
kulttuuri
the culture
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Questions & Answers about Museossa opin, että kulttuuri voi muuttua nopeasti.
What does the suffix -ssa mean in museossa?
It’s the inessive case, which expresses “in” or “inside” something. So museo (museum) + -ssa gives “in the museum.”
Why is the verb opin used instead of a form like opiskelin?
Oppia means “to learn,” whereas opiskella means “to study.” Opin is the 1st person singular past of oppia (“I learned”). If you said opiskelin, it would mean “I studied.”
Why is there no subject pronoun like minä before opin?
Finnish is a pro-drop language: the verb ending -in in opin already indicates the subject “I,” so you can omit minä unless you want to add emphasis.
How does the conjunction että function here?
Että is the Finnish equivalent of that when introducing a subordinate clause. It connects “I learned” to “culture can change quickly.”
Why is the verb muuttua used instead of muuttaa?
Muuttua is intransitive and means “to become” or “to change (by itself).” Muuttaa is transitive, meaning “to change something” or “to move (house).” Here, culture changes on its own, so you need muuttua.
What does voi mean in voi muuttua?
It’s the 3rd person singular present of voida, meaning “can” or “to be able to.” So kulttuuri voi muuttua = “culture can change.”
How is the adverb nopeasti formed from nopea?
Most Finnish adjectives form adverbs with -sti: nopea (quick) + -sti = nopeasti (quickly).
Is the comma before että always necessary?
In written Finnish, you normally separate a subordinate clause with a comma. So you should write the comma before että to clearly mark the start of the dependent clause, though very informal writing may sometimes omit it.