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Questions & Answers about Syön illallista myöhään.
Why is illallista in the partitive case?
Because the verb syödä (to eat) takes a partitive object when referring to an indefinite or ongoing action or an unspecified quantity. The partitive marks incomplete or continuous actions. If you said syön illallisen, it would imply you finish the dinner as a complete event.
What exactly does the partitive case indicate, and how do I form illallista?
The partitive often marks partial objects, uncounted quantities, or ongoing processes. To form the singular partitive of a noun ending in -nen, you drop -nen and add -sta (sometimes adjusting consonants). So illallinen → illallista.
Why is there no article (a/the) before illallista?
Finnish has no articles like “a” or “the.” Definiteness and indefiniteness are expressed via context, word order, or possessive suffixes. Syön illallista can mean “I eat dinner” or “I’m having dinner,” with no separate article.
What is myöhään, and why is it not inflected for case?
Myöhään is an adverb meaning “late.” It’s formed from the adjective myöhä plus the adverbial ending -n. Unlike nouns, adverbs don’t take case endings, so myöhään remains the same regardless of its position in the sentence.
Why is the subject pronoun minä omitted?
In Finnish, verb endings indicate person and number. Syön ends in -n, showing “I” (first person singular). Because the verb form already tells you the subject, the pronoun minä is usually dropped unless you want extra emphasis or clarification.
Is the word order in Syön illallista myöhään fixed?
No, Finnish word order is relatively free. Syön illallista myöhään (SVO + adverb) is neutral. You can shift myöhään to the front (Myöhään syön illallista) to emphasize the timing, or say Syön myöhään illallista. All are grammatically correct; the emphasis changes.
Could I use the accusative illallisen instead of the partitive?
Yes, but that changes the nuance. Syön illallisen (accusative) suggests you eat the entire dinner (a bounded, completed event). The partitive illallista focuses on the activity of having dinner without implying its completion.