Breakdown of Pyykki kuivuu nopeasti ulkona.
ulkona
outside
kuivua
to dry
nopeasti
quickly
pyykki
the laundry
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Finnish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Pyykki kuivuu nopeasti ulkona.
Why is there no article before pyykki?
Finnish does not use definite or indefinite articles like “a” or “the.” You simply say pyykki for “laundry” or “the laundry” depending on context.
What case is pyykki in and why?
Pyykki is in the nominative singular case because it’s the subject of the sentence. Subjects in Finnish typically appear in the nominative.
What’s the difference between the verbs kuivua and kuivata, and why is kuivuu used here?
Kuivua is an intransitive verb meaning “to become dry” (something dries by itself), whereas kuivata is transitive, “to dry something.” Here the laundry dries on its own, so we use the intransitive kuivuu (3rd person singular present of kuivua).
Why does kuivuu have two u’s?
The infinitive stem of the verb is kuivu-. The present tense ending for 3rd person singular is -u. When you combine them, kuivu + u becomes kuivuu.
What part of speech is nopeasti, and why isn’t it nopea?
Nopeasti is an adverb meaning “quickly,” and it modifies the verb kuivuu. Nopea is an adjective (“quick”), which would modify a noun, not a verb.
What case is ulkona, and how does it express “outside”?
Ulkona is the adessive case (stem ulko- + suffix -na). The adessive often indicates location “at” or “on” something, so ulkona literally means “at/on the outside,” i.e. “outside.”
Can I change the word order, for example “Nopeasti pyykki kuivuu ulkona”?
Yes. Finnish has relatively free word order and allows you to emphasize different parts by moving words around. The neutral order is Pyykki kuivuu nopeasti ulkona, but Nopeasti pyykki kuivuu ulkona is also grammatically correct (it highlights nopeasti).
How do you form the question “Does the laundry dry quickly outside?” in Finnish?
You attach the question particle -ko/-kö to the verb:
Kuivuuko pyykki nopeasti ulkona?
This means “Does the laundry dry quickly outside?”