Pesen pyykkiä sunnuntaisin.

I wash laundry on Sundays.

Breakdown of Pesen pyykkiä sunnuntaisin.

• minä: I
• pestä: to wash
• pyykki: the laundry
• sunnuntaisin: on Sundays

Questions & Answers about Pesen pyykkiä sunnuntaisin.

Why is pyykkiä in the partitive case instead of the nominative?

In Finnish, the partitive case often marks

• an object of an ongoing or repeated action (you’re not “finishing” all the laundry in one go but doing laundry habitually),
• or an indefinite quantity (laundry is a mass noun here).
  So pyykkiä (partitive of pyykki) fits a habitual, non-completed action.

Why is the verb pesen in the present tense even though it describes a habitual action?

Finnish uses the same present-tense form for both one‐off and habitual actions. There is no separate “habitual” tense as in English (I wash vs. I am washing). Context or time adverbs (like sunnuntaisin) tell you it’s a repeated action.

What does sunnuntaisin mean, and how is it different from sunnuntaina?

• sunnuntaisin = “on Sundays” (every Sunday, regularly)
• sunnuntaina = “on Sunday/this Sunday” (refers to one specific Sunday)
  The suffix -sin turns a weekday into a adverb meaning “whenever that day comes around.”

How is sunnuntaisin formed?

1. Start with the nominative sunnuntai (Sunday).
2. Remove the final -i to get the stem sunnunta-.
3. Add -sin, the marker for periodic/habitual time adverbs.
   Result: sunnunta
   • sin → sunnuntaisin (“on Sundays”).

Why is there no separate word for “I” (minä) in the sentence?

Finnish verbs are inflected for person. pesen already means “I wash.” Pronouns like minä are optional and used only for emphasis or clarity.

Could I say Minä pesen pyykkiä sunnuntaisin?

Yes. It’s grammatically correct. Adding minä simply stresses or clarifies the subject, but most Finns drop it because the verb form already shows who’s doing the action.

Can I change the word order and say Sunnuntaisin pesen pyykkiä?

Absolutely. Finnish allows flexible word order. Placing sunnuntaisin at the front emphasizes “every Sunday” even more, without changing the basic meaning.

What is the infinitive form of pesen, and what verb type is it?

The dictionary form is pestä (“to wash”), which is a type I verb (ends in -tä). You form the 1st person singular present by dropping -tä and adding -n, giving pesen.