Minä sammutan valon.

I turn off the light.

Breakdown of Minä sammutan valon.

• minä: I
• valo: the light
• sammuttaa: to turn off

Questions & Answers about Minä sammutan valon.

Why do we use Minä at the beginning? Do we have to include the pronoun?

Minä is the subject pronoun “I.” In Finnish the verb ending -n in sammutan already tells you the subject is “I,” so the pronoun is technically optional. You can simply say:
• Sammutan valon.
…if the context makes it clear who is doing the action.

What is the base form of sammutan, and how is it conjugated?

The infinitive (dictionary form) is sammuttaa “to turn off.” It’s a Type I verb (stem sammut- + -taa). In the present tense you attach person endings to that stem:
• minä sammut-an (I turn off)
• sinä sammut-at (you turn off)
• hän sammut-aa (he/she turns off)
…and so on. The -n on sammutan marks first-person singular.

Why does the verb change from sammua (to go off) to sammuttaa (to turn off)?

sammua is intransitive: lamppu sammuu = “the lamp goes off” (by itself). To express that someone causes the light to go off, you need the causative/transitive form sammuttaa:
• Minä sammutan valon = “I turn off the light.”

Why is valo written as valon with a final -n?

Here valon is the accusative (often identical to the genitive) singular. The -n indicates that the object is definite and the action is viewed as complete: you switch the light off in its entirety.

What’s the difference between sammut­an valon and sammut­an valoa?

• sammutan valon (accusative) = you turn off the light (complete action, definite).
• sammutan valoa (partitive) = you turn off some of the light or you’re in the process of turning it off (incomplete or ongoing).

How would you say “I’m not turning off the light” in Finnish?

Use the negative verb en + the main verb stem (no personal ending) + partitive object:
• En sammuta valoa.

How do you turn Minä sammutan valon into a question (“Do I turn off the light?”)?

Attach the question particle -ko/-kö to the verb or pronoun:
• Sammutanko valon? (verb-attached)
• Minäkö sammutan valon? (pronoun-attached, for emphasis)

Can I change the word order in this sentence?

Yes—Finnish has flexible word order for emphasis or style. All of these are grammatically correct:
• Sammutan valon minä. (emphasize who)
• Valon sammutan. (emphasize what)
• Minä valon sammutan. (less common but possible)

Are there articles like “the” or “a” in Finnish?

No, Finnish has no articles. Definiteness or indefiniteness comes from context and case endings. In sammutan valon the -n makes it “the light,” whereas plain sammutan valo could mean “I turn off a light” (indefinite), though you’d more often use the partitive to show indefiniteness or incompleteness.